


Captive

by remorseofthedead



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-18
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-12 05:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 28
Words: 24,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/807766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remorseofthedead/pseuds/remorseofthedead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ace is betrayed by some of Whitebeard's allies. Will Whitebeard come to his rescue? or is he the reason Ace is being held captive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Blearily opening my eyes, I glance around the dark cell. I have been here for going on three months now. I had hoped that the crew would have found me by now, but now I don't know if I even want them to find me. I don't even know if they are aware that I am still alive. But even if they don't come find me, I have to get out and tell Pops. I have to tell him how I ended up here and warn him not to trust them. But I still can't make sense of it, maybe if my mind wasn't so muddled, and I was so exhausted from lack of food and the torture, I could think more about and possibly figure out what was going on. Did they just have something against me, or is it an attack on Pops? Was Pops really in on it, like they said he was? I can't see Pops deceiving someone like that, so I am sure they were just trying to make me doubt him and lose hope of every being saved. But, it is kinda strange that the one time he sends me somewhere with one of our allies, they betray me like this.

I was in the crows nest of the Moby Dick, keeping watch, well at least I was when my narcolepsy would let me. Marco climbs up and into the crows nest with me, waking me up.

"Pop wants to see you," he tells me, reaching his hand out to help me up.

"Hm, how come?" I ask confused, not being able to think of anything that I had done wrong recently. I mean sure, Thatch and I have pulled a couple of pranks, but nothing serious.

"I think he has a job for you to do. You will be going with one of our ally ships," he replies, smiling softly at me.

"Ah, but I just got back," I reply, looking up at Marco, pouting. He laughs softly and pulls me into a hug.

"I know Ace. But I a sure it is important. Pops wouldn't send you off again so soon." I nod, knowing that what he says is true and climb out of the crows nest. Pops told me that I would be going to an island with some of his oldest allies, I was to help them take care of some people who had been threatening them. I agreed instantly, I had never met these pirates before, but if Pops trusted them, than they had to be decent people.

Or so I thought. About half-way to the island, I had a narcoleptic attack out on deck. When I awoke from it, I found myself chained to the mast, using sea stones of course. I looked around, wondering if we had gotten attacked or something while I was out, but everyone else seemed fine and were acting completely normal.

"Oi, what the hell?" I yell toward the nearest member. He turns toward me shocks, as if not expecting me to say anything. Then, instead of answering, he runs below deck, just to reappear a couple of minutes with the captain.

"Well, Fire-Fist Ace you are awake at last.….or should I say Gol D. Ace, who would have thought that the famous Gol D. Rogers' son would get captured so easily." He sneers, squatting down in front of me.

"What the hell are you talking about? My name is Portgas D. Ace, and the only father I have is Whitebeard." I yell back.

"Now, now Ace. No need to lie. Whitebeard told us everything…..That is why you are here you know, the old man had been planning this since you told him of your heritage, he doesn't like scum on his crew." he laughs.

"You're lying. Pops would never do something like that and he will save me and kill you. How dare you turn your back on him like this."

"Were you not listening boy? Your Pops is the reason you are here. He paid us some good money to get rid of you." He says, laughing, before he punches me, causing me to black out.

When I woke up, I chained to a dungeon wall, my arms above my head.

I sigh softly, moving my arms a bit, trying to relieve a bit of the pressure on my shoulders, which were chained above my head. It has been a few days since they have come to my cell, a few days without food, without beatings, without anything. I don't know if they are just trying to get into my head like this or if they are just done with me, just leaving me here to die alone.

I close my eyes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but hoping that unconsciousness would find me again or that I had another narcoleptic attack. After a few more minutes, I heard foot steps walking toward the door, along with the rustle of something heavy being dragged across the floor.

The door is slung open, and my tormentor walks in, dragging what I know realize is a body behind him. He opens my cell, and slings the limp figure in. He lands on his stomach and all I can see is wild curly black hair and blood stained, tattered overalls covering a lanky body. I glance back up as the cell door is closed and he walks back out the door, not uttering a word or even acknowledging my existence. I hang my head again and slowly slip into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 1

Feeling my consciousness start to come back, I groan lightly squeezing my eyes tightly shut. Hearing movement come from a few feet away from me, I force my eyes open and shift around, causing sharp pain to run up my arms, trying to get a better look at the cause of the noise. Blinking to allow my eyes to adjust to the dim light of the dungeon, a hunch figure appears, a half-eaten plate of food and a half filled glass of water beside him. At the sound of my chains hitting together, and my pained gasps, he lifts his head and quickly turns to face me.

"Ace, you're awake," He exclaims, I blink in confusion, not being able to see well enough to make out any details and only vaguely recognizing the voice. He stands up quickly, picking up the plate and glass and walk towards me. "They brought in some food about half an hour ago. It is probably cold by now but it is better than nothing."

I open my mouth, intent on telling him to eat it himself, that he didn't need to do anything like that for me, but I could not force any words to come out of my dry and raw throat. The effort sends me into a fit of painful coughing, causing my body to shake with the effort and jarring my arms. The kid puts down the food and tries to hold me as still as possible, which wasn't very much considering how scrawny he felt to be.

After my coughs die down, he lets me go and gently smiles back at me, before picking up the food again and slowly feeding me. I knew I should feel embarrassed by being fed by someone else, someone who I still haven't figured out the identity of. But my hunger won out and I eat the rest of the food without complaint. After he had also helped me drink the water, he put everything back on the ground and sat down beside me.

"How did you end up here kid?" I ask, finally being able to speak. He jumps slightly, seemingly not expecting me to say anything, before turning towards me.

"Oh, we landed on this island, at least I think I'm still on the same island, and I was out to buy some gunpowder, I couple of guys attack me and while I was trying to get away, I think I was hit by some type of tranq, the next thing I knew I was waking up in here…I think they are wanting information on the everyone and figured I would be their best bet." He replies, looking slightly embarrassed. "What about you?" He asks quickly before I have time to respond.

"I was betrayed," I whisper, sighing slightly. He lets out a gasp and quickly looks up at me.

"By Whitebeard?" he questions astonished. I laugh quietly before replying.

"I don't know. That is what they told me, and at first I didn't believe it, but now….now I just don't know," I reply honestly.

He opens his mouth to respond, but is stopped by the opening of the door. In walk two men, men that I knew retrieved prisoners to take them to another room, where they are tortured.

They open the cell door and drag the, now cowering, kid out. I close my eyes tightly, wanting nothing more than to help him out, but knowing there is nothing I can do in the state I am in now, even if it was possible to get out of my chains. Sighing sadly, I keep my eyes tightly closed as the pained screams begin.

After what seems like hours, the door opens again, and throw the bruised and bloody kid back into the cell. They re-close the cell and walk out the door, once again leaving us alone. The kid takes a shuttering breath, before pushing himself up into the sitting position. He coughs raggedly, holding his sides tightly. He stumbles to his feet, and staggers to the wall and slides down beside me. I watch silently as he inspects his wounds, wrapping pieces torn from his white sash around the worst of them. Having finished his work, he leans against the wall, letting out a shaky breath of air.

"How long have you been here Ace?" he asks is a raspy voice, throat no doubt raw from the screams forced out of him earlier.

"I think it's been about three months, though I can't really be sure."

"Shit, three months…That is a long time to be treated like this. I doubt I could survive it. But don't worry, Luffy'll come save us soon. I know he will." My eyes shoot open at the name of my little brother…Luffy, now I remember, this kid is part of Luffy's crew. Luffy will no doubt come to save him….and now I guess he'll have to save me too. Getting saved by weak little Luffy. I laugh bitterly at the thought, even as a smile spreads across my face.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING this chapter contains rape...nothing graphic, more or less just a mention. But if you do not wish to skip that scene there will be *********** at the beginning and then again at the end

It has been a few days since Usopp has been thrown in here with me. A few days of watching them drag him out, hearing his pain filled screams, and then throwing him back in, covered in blood. They also have been decreasing the amount of food they give him, probably hoping that he will stop sharing with me, but no matter how many times I tell him not to, he always gives me half his food, which isn't much anymore. Every day was the same.

Usopp was sitting against the wall, telling me about the adventure they have been on since leaving Alabasta and their new crew members, Nico Robin and a shipwright, who was apparently a cyborg, named Franky. He also told me about leaving the crew and losing Merry. I understood how much that must have hurt him, having heard his past and how he joined the crew yesterday. I knew that most of his stories were exaggerated, but I knew there was at least a little truth in them all and telling them seemed to make him happy, so I dutifully listened.

He also asks me question about my adventures and past, which I of course tell him. I tell him of my time with Sabo and when I met Luffy, of the adventures we had together and the promise to become pirates. Of Sabo dying before he could realize his dream, and of Luffy and I promising to set out when we turned 17. I told him of my time with the Spade Pirates, meeting Shanks, and Usopp's dad, and of how I joined Whitebeard….and about how I came to be in this cell. My tales were nowhere near as exciting as his, but seemed to enjoy listening to them as much as he enjoyed telling his own.

That is where we were, swapping stories, when the door creaked open. In walked our tormentor, and I knew, something dreadful was about to happen. He rarely ever came to the cell personally, only doing so when he was bored and wanted a little 'fun'. Bile rises in my throat as he smirks at me, before turning his attention to Usopp.

"Wait, leave him alone, don't do this to him. He is just a kid!" I yell out, struggling against my bonds. A loud laugh is the only sign he shows that he had heard me, before continuing towards Usopp, we was glancing between us confused. He opens his, presumably to ask what is going on, but before he gets the chance, a large fist slams into the side of his face, causing him to fall onto the floor. Before Usopp can recover from the hard hit, our captor binds his hands and hooks them onto the wall.

Tears begin streaming down Usopp's face as his overall are pulled off him, snapping the buttons to the straps. I begin struggling harder, not wanting this kid to go through the same thing I did. But it was no use, I just couldn't break free. At the first scream, I watch in horror, no longer able to make my body move, as he thrusts in and out violently. I feel tears begin in my own eyes, hating the fact that this kid was getting violated so viciously right in front of me and I couldn't do a thing about it.

It seems to go on for hours. Usopp's screams dying down to quiet sobs, his eyes tightly screwed shut. But finally, with one last thrust and a grunt, he pulls out and unties Usopp before walking out of the door laughing loudly.

I watch silently as he stands up on shaky legs, pulling his overalls back up and tying the straps together to keep them up. Sniffing loudly, he tries to take his normal set beside me, only to gasp in pain and shift around to lay on his stomach. I close my eyes as sobs begin wracking through his body, knowing there was nothing I could do to make him feel better. After a while, his sobs quieten down and he seems to drift off to sleep. I sigh slightly, and watch him for a few seconds, before slowly drifting off myself.

I wake suddenly, not knowing what had caused me to wake up, I look around trying to find anything out of place. But everything seems to be the same, no one other than Usopp, who was still asleep on his stomach, and I were in the room. Just as I was about to decide that I just had a bad dream that caused me to awaken, I hear a loud crash from above, followed by people screaming. I call Usopp's name, waking him up. He pushes himself up with his elbows, staring at me confused, until he too, hears the crash, which causes a broad smile to cross his face as he looks at me smiling excitedly. I smile back, hoping that our assumptions are right.


	4. Chapter 3

It only took the Straw Hats a few days to find out where they had taken their sniper, and now here they are, rushing into the building deep in the woods. It wasn't a large building, so hopefully they could quickly find Usopp and get out of there, there was no knowing what kind of condition he would be in.   
They rushed in, attacking any enemy they come to, none being much of a challenge for the monster trio. They made their way to the end of the hallway, throwing open the door they were faced by what was sure to be the leader and his two strongest fighters.  
"Where's Usopp?" Luffy yells out the second he lays eyes on him. The leader laughs loudly as the other two begin sniggering.  
"You mean that little long nosed coward? He should be down in the cell, probably passed out on the floor, we did just have quite the enjoyable time." he leered, smirking at the crew. Everyone stared in shock at the man, not liking what he was insinuating.  
"You bastard, what did you do him?" Luffy asks angrily, causing the men to start laughing once more.   
"Nothing, we just had a little fun." He whispers, licking his lips before grinning at him. He opens him mouth to make another comment, but finds himself unable to make any noise, having just had a rubber fist slam into his gut.  
His two lackeys jump forward, drawing their swords only to find themselves stopped by a sword and a kick. Nami, Robin, Franky and Chopper ran around them to try and find Usopp, but as soon as the walked through the door, they were ambushed by several enemies. They each began attacking instantly.  
Luffy drew his fist back and began rapidly attacking. But punch after punch after punch was blocked or dodged, before he pulled out his own sword, and started on the offensive. He charges forward, swinging his blade skillfully, causing Luffy to jump back to avoid getting hit. Going into gear second, Luffy began quickly attacking him. The leader dodged most of them, but took a few hits to the gut, sending him flying into the opposite wall, where Luffy jumped on top of him and began rapidly punching wherever he could reach, his anger getting the best of him.  
By the time he was finished, the enemy was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor, not even sure if he was breathing or not, Luffy got off of him, wiping his bloody hands on his shorts and turning around to see Sanji land a final kick to his guy's jaw, sending him crashing through the wall, and Zoro cut down the last guy, causing him to crumble to the floor.  
They run through the door, and pass all of the bodies that the rest of the crew had taken care of. They run to the end of the hallway, where they find the crew trying to pick their way into a heavy metal door. Finally the door swings open, revealing a dark room with a cell. Walking up to the cell, they are all happy to see Usopp sitting against the wall, tired and in pain, but grinning broadly at them.   
**********  
I hold my breath as I hear a second set of footsteps approach the door, seconds before it swung open. Luffy and his crew run up to the cell, smiling happily at Usopp, who is grinning just as broadly. The green haired swordsman, I think his name was Zoro, tells everyone to stand back, before pulling out a sword and quickly cutting through the bars. They all rush in, surrounding Usopp, all trying to talk at once. After their excitement dies down a bit, they help him stand, while this was going on, the orange haired girl glances around the room and her eyes finally land on me. Walking cautiously closer, her eyes widen in recognition. She through a hand up to cover her mouth, before sharply turning around to face Luffy.  
"Luffy," she calls frantically, causing Luffy to look up at her, "Ace" she replies simply to his unasked question, moving to the side. Luffy stares for a few moments, before his eyes widen in shock.   
"Ace!" he yells out in shock, running towards me.  
"Yo," I reply, smiling as best as I can.   
"Ace, how did you get here? What happened?" he asks frantically, staring at me in horror.  
"I'll tell you in a minute, but do you think you can get me down first?" I ask with a small laugh. Nodding his head, he moves out of the way as Zoro comes forward and slices the chains connecting my wrists together and to the ceiling, causing me to crumbling onto the ground. Nami comes forward and picks the locks keeping the seastone cuffs on my wrists. Luffy and a blue haired guy, that I can only assume is Franky, help me stand up and put me on the back of Zoro, as much as I would rather not be carried, I didn't really have the strength to argue much less walk to their ship on my own. I look over, to notice Usopp getting put on Franky's back, before they all start running out of the base.   
I open my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar room, I must have passed out at some point during the trip. I look myself over and notice that all of my wounds have been treated and bandaged. I painfully sit up, planning on finding Luffy and hopefully something to eat. But just as I was pulling myself to my feet, the door opens and in walks the little reindeer that I recall being their doctor.  
"Ace, what are you doing? You can't move around yet! You are going to reopen your wounds," he yells frantically, pushing me back down on the bed. Complying with his wishes, I lay back down and he begins checking all of my wounds.  
"Well, you seem to be healing rather fast, you should be able to get out of bed in the next few day." He tells me happily, smiling broadly.  
"Thanks Doc." I reply, smiling at him. I chuckle slightly as a blush covers his face and he begins dancing and clapping his hoofs together, insulting me the whole time.  
"I'm sure Luffy will be happy to know that you are awake, do you feel up to seeing him?" Chopper asks, calming down.  
"Alright, I'll go get him…and get Sanji to make you some food." he adds on as my stomach begins to growl. I smile my thanks before he walks out of the room.   
A short time later, I hear loud running footsteps, that could only belong to Luffy, before the door slams open. I let out a painful grunt as I suddenly find myself with a lapful of Luffy. He lays down on me, hugging me tightly.   
"Ace, I'm so glad you are awake. I didn't think you were ever going to wake up," Luffy cries into my shoulder. I smile slightly, wrapping my arms around him.  
"I'm fine Lu," I whisper, holding him tightly. He nods his head, before cuddling closer to me. We lay like that until there is a knock on the door, before it is slowly pushed open. In walks Sanji, holding a huge plate of food. He sets the plate down on the table, before smiling at me and walking out of the room. Luffy slowly gets off of me and helps me sit up, before handing me the plate of food and sitting down in the chair next to my bed. I quickly scarf down the food and a glass of water, before leaning back against the stack of pillows placed behind me. I look over at Luffy and begin telling him everything that had happened.


	5. Chapter 4

Telling Luffy everything that had happened was easier than I thought it would be. I of course left out all the gruesome details of my imprisonment, not wanting him to worry too much about it, although I don't know how much the doctor told him about my, or Usopp's, condition. Thankfully, after telling him, he didn't act very different, and switched the conversation to something else, talking a mile a minute until Chopper made him leave.  
I had been stuck in the infirmary for about a month know, letting my broken bones heal, but I was finally been allowed to leave. Standing up, I stumble a bit, still not being completely used to using my legs again, though having Chopper help me walk a bit around the infirmary the past month helped a lot. I walk out onto the deck, closing my eyes enjoying the first feel of sunshine in a few months.   
I spend the next couple of months getting my strength back. I trained a lot with Zoro in his weight room, and fought a lot with Luffy whenever we landed on an island. I was slowly regaining the strength that I had one had. After a few days, my Devil Fruit powers also began returning. 

We had just left an island and I was sitting on the rails staring out at the sea. I kept trying to think of reasons Whitebeard would betray me…and Marco, would he really betray me? He seemed to care so much about me. The first time I told him how I felt, our first date, our first kiss, the first time we spent a night together, waking up in his arms for the first time, the first time saying we loved each other, he had always been so sweet, so kind. Was all of that really just an act? A way to make the betrayal hurt that much more? I really don’t want to believe that, but I just don’t know what else to think. If it hadn’t been them, wouldn’t they have come looking for me?…wouldn’t they have rescued me? Sometimes my mind reasons that it was their ally that had betrayed me, and had probably told them that we were attacked and that I was dead. But even if that were true, didn’t they care enough to find my body, or to get revenge? I sigh sadly, no matter how I look at it, I just can’t think of a way that Whitebeard could be innocent. I guess I never really had a father, I guess he never really cared at all about me. He probably just got a kick out of tricking his dead rivals bastard child. 

I feel tears beginning to gather, shaking my head sharply, I take a deep breath and jump back onto the deck. Roughly wiping my eyes, I head to the galley to get something, hopefully alcoholic, to drink. Grabbing a couple of bottles of sake, I head bellow deck, not really in the mood to see anyone at the moment. I try to stop the tears from falling, not wanting to turn into a cry baby like Luffy, but I just couldn’t. I thought I had finally found a family, finally found people, other than Luffy and Sabo of course, that didn’t care that I was the son of Gol D. Roger, people that thought I should be allowed to live. Granted, the only ones of the ship that knew were Whitebeard and Marco. But I guess it doesn’t really matter, I was once again wrong. No one, save for Luffy, thought I deserved to be alive, no one wanted me alive. Maybe…maybe it really would be better if I had never been born. Just when I thought I finally found acceptance…and love, they just betrayed me. Making up my mind on my next course of action, I stumble up and make my way towards the bunkroom, where I fall onto the couch and drift off to sleep.  
After that night, I work harder than ever trying to get back into the shape I was in before this whole ordeal. I know that Luffy is getting curious about my new found optimism, but I will until I am ready to leave before telling him of my plans. It takes another couple of months for me to feel strong enough, and to get good control of my powers again.   
We were about a day or two away from the next island when I join Luffy on the figurehead after dinner. Neither of us say a word as he lays his head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around him. We sit in silence for about an hour, just watching the sun sink below the horizon.

“Your leaving, aren’t you, Ace?” he asks quietly, seeming to already know the answer.

“Yeah, at the next island,” I reply, equally as quiet. I smile sadly as he cuddles closer to me. 

“What are you going to do?” 

“I’m going to find Whitebeard,” I reply confidently, though I don’t really feel it. He nods his head and closes his eyes. I can tell that he wants to help, but I could never allow my only little brother to fight someone as strong as Whitebeard, which I know he will do if he got half the chance.

The next day, right after landing on the island, Luffy calmly says his goodbyes and hands me a sack of beri. I was reluctant on accepting it, but I knew that I needed money for a boat, if I was going to find Whitebeard. I accept it with a smile, and begin walking off alone into the village.


	6. Chapter 5

It took a couple of months, but I have finally found Moby Dick, docked at one of his many islands. I dock on the other side of the island, not wanting to be seen just yet. Sneaking around, especially when following someone as experienced as Marco, was harder than I thought. But they either didn’t notice, or were just ignoring me. The latter being more likely, considering I have no idea how exactly to hide my presence from haki users. 

Following Marco was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had hoped to at least see a little sign that he, or anyone else really, had missed me, but so far nothing. Everyone looks and acts the same as usual. It was like I had never been with them, almost like I had never existed at all. Sigh lightly, I make my way into the forest, done watching them for now. It hurts so much realizing that it was all just some ploy, that it was all fake. Whitebeard and Marco’s acceptance and love. The crew’s kindness. It was all a lie. Feeling tears begin to prickle my eyes, I violently wipe them away and make my way through the forest, trying to find a relatively safe place to stay, so that I can formulate some type of plan. I had to bring Whitebeard down, or die trying. I would not be made a fool of by anyone, especially by someone that I thought of as a father, nor someone that I had given everything to. Finally finding an empty cave, I gather some wood for a fire and go hunting to find some food.

Sitting in the cave, I try to prepare myself for what was about to happen. I knew that it would probably come to this, that is why I picked up some sea stone at the last village. But still, it hurt thinking that I would be going against people I thought were my family, going against a man that I had loved, whom I probably still love. Sighing softly, I curl into a ball and drift into a restless sleep.

Waking early the next morning, I make my way to the edge of the forest and jump up to sit on a tree, watching Moby Dick, waiting for Marco to come out and head to the village. I knew he would be coming out soon, and would be alone. So many days I had woken up early just to take a walk with Marco through the mostly empty town and without the rest of the crew teasing us. Tightly closing my eyes and shaking my head, I turn my focus make to the situation at hand. Watching Marco walk off of the ship and make his way into the forest, without even glancing in my direction, causing a quick smile to appear. I wipe it away, and swiftly begin following him. 

One we are a good distance away from Moby Dick, I turn my fist into fire and attack. Turning around quickly, Marco turns the part of his body that I was aiming for into blue flames. He stares at me wide-eyed once I jump back and get into fighting position.

 

“A…Ace?” he stutters taking a hesitant step towards me. He stops moving at the growl that leaves my throat. “I thought you were dead…we all thought you were dead. Pops will be so happy to see you.”

“Shut up, Marco. Don’t lie to me. I know everything.” I snarl out, glaring angrily at him. “Don’t you dare pretend that you or Whitebeard care.”

“Wha….what are you talking about Ace? Pops loves you,”

“I don’t have a Pops, nor do I need one.” I say, before quickly pulling out my sea stone covered dagger. Lunging swiftly towards him, I jab the dagger deep into his gut, twisting it slightly, before yanking it back out. He stares up at me in disbelieve, hands pressing tightly to his wound. 

“Ace…” he whispers out, before blood starts pouring out of his mouth and he collapses to the ground. I stare at him for a few minutes, before running off back to my cave, ignoring the ache in my chest and the tears streaming down my face.


	7. Chapter 6

I startle awake, not really sure what could have woken me up. Getting dressed, I head out onto the deck. I wasn't really surprised to see no one out here, none of the crew, save Marco, were crazy enough to be awake this earlier. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, I begin heading back to my room, to hopefully get a couple more hours of sleep before I have to start breakfast. Laying back down, I close my eyes, determined to fall asleep. But for some reason I just couldn't settle down. After about 30 minutes of tossing and turning, I decide to give up and just take a walk to help clear my head. I may even get the chance to pull a prank on Marco, he is usually walking around at this time. 

Leisurely I begin walking through the forest, not really going anywhere in particular. After about 20 minutes, I came upon a clearing and stopped dead in my tracks. My breath stopped and I felt a tightness in my chest at what I saw. There, laying in that clearing was Marco, covered in blood. Coming to my sense, I run towards him. Turning him over onto his back, I gasp silently at the large gash in his stomach. I briefly wonder why he hadn’t healed himself before quickly picking him up and running back to the ship. 

Running onto the deck, I begin screaming for someone to help me, banging on doors and making as much noise as possible. Doors begin slamming open as the crew rushed out, seeming to expect a battle, but upon seeing me, they all stop in their tracks, staring wide-eyed. The nurses rush forward, grabbing Marco out of my arms before hurrying to the infirmary. I collapse on the deck, the shock finally taking it’s toll. Someone, I’m not really sure who, helped me sit up and handed me a glass of water, trying to calm me down a bit, while everyone else went to search the ship, not knowing who attacked Marco, or where he was attacked. 

A large shadow covers me, looking up I see Pops standing behind me looking concerned. “What happened, Son? Are you alright?” he asks gently.

Nodding my head slightly, I had to clear my throat a few times before I felt as if I could speak. “I’m fine Pops. But Marco….Marco isn’t. I….I found him in the woods….There was so much blood, Pops.” I stutter out looking at Pops with wide, tear filled eyes. I watch as his eyes widen slightly, before he reaches down, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Don’t worry. Marco is tough, he’ll get through this. Now, why don’t you go back to bed and rest some, we’ll wake you as soon as anything happens,” he promises, trying to reassure me. I nod my head, before standing up and heading to the showers, wanting to get Marco’s blood off of me as soon as possible. 

After laying in bed for a few hours, not being able to sleep, I stood up and heading out onto the deck. I stare out at the sea, trying to figure out why, and how someone could hurt Marco so badly, when one of the nurses runs up to me. She tells me that the surgery is done, but he isn’t awake, and they are not sure when, or if, he will wake up, and that the blade was covered in sea stone, explaining why he didn’t heal himself. Feeling my rage build up, I silently swear to myself that I will kill whoever dared to hurt my brother.


	8. Chapter 7

I rush back to the clearing where I had stabbed Marco, getting there just in time to see Thatch carrying him away. I follow behind him, hoping he doesn’t notice me. I watch as he runs onto the deck of Moby Dick, screaming incoherently, I watch as everyone rushes out, weapons drawn, only to freeze and rush Marco to the infirmary. Everyone searches the ship, but even though they find nothing, they are all on high alert. This put a major hole in my plan. I had hoped to take out most of the Division Commanders and then attack Whitebeard when no one else was around, being too busy searching the island for the attacker. But now, now there was a chance that Marco will wake up, at least long enough to tell them who attacked him. 

Sigh slightly, I settle in on the branch of a tree where I can get a good few of the ship. Watching silently as Whitebeard talks to Thatch. Feeling a slight pang of jealously at the obvious love in Whitebeard’s eyes, I turn my head away and try to think of a new plan. I sit there for hours, before sighing softly, and heading back into the forest, not wanting to risk falling asleep and being discovered.

It has been a few days since Marco has been brought in and he still hasn’t woken up. I get more and more worried as time passes, normally I wouldn’t worry too much about Marco, but apparently that bastard coated the dagger in sea stone, and some of it came off inside his wound. They got all they could out, but they said that there is a good possibility that some is still there, especially considering Marco hasn’t shown any signs of waking yet. 

Sighing sadly I make my way to the infirmary, I have been spending most of my time with him, having been kicked out of the kitchens after dropping the fourth kettle of soup. Pulling the chair up to his bed, I sit down, staring at his pale face and swearing to myself that I will make whoever did this pay. I begin talking to him, just babbling on about nothing, having been told that talking to a comatose patient will sometimes help them. 

Standing up, I sigh slightly and promise to come back and visit again later that day. Walking out on deck, I tell Pops that I will be back later and walk off without waiting for an answer. I begin walking through the forest again, hoping to find some clue as to what had happened. Walking passed the clearing, trying my best not to look at the blood stains still prominent, I make my way deeper into the forest. I begin noticing broken twigs and ripped cloth hanging off of tree branched, almost as if someone had been rushing through the forest without paying attention to where they were going. Figuring that this is as good of a clue as any, I begin following the trail, which led me to a slightly hidden cave. 

I wasn’t very shocked to find someone asleep on the cave floor nor that they were covered in blood, but what did shock me was who it looked like. As I got closer and closer, it started looking more and more like Ace. But that was impossible, Ace was dead. Rushing forward, I drop to my knees to make sure he wasn’t injured, when a fist flies out and hits me square on the nose. Reeling back, I look at Ace, there was no doubt in my mind that it was Ace now, and notice him glaring hatefully at me. Then the realization of the situation hit me, Ace attacked Marco.

I woke up as soon as I heard someone enter into the cave. I barely open my eyes, and have to fight down a smile, this was just too perfect. Quickly closing my eyes again, I hear his gasp lightly before moving towards me. He kneels down beside and I swing my fist towards him, feeling elated when I hear the sick cracking of a nose breaking. I glare up at him as he stares at me in what seems to be confusion. 

I quickly jump up, readying my fists for the fight to come. Seeing Thatch continue to sit there, holding his nose and staring at me, I light my fist and lunge towards him. He quickly rolls out of the way at the last second, barely dodging. I turn swiftly back around, I see Thatch glaring at me with his swords drawn. Smirking slightly, I lunge at him again, only to be block by one of his swords, as he swings the other around, only for it to go through my flames. 

“Why are you doing this, Ace? Why did you attack Marco?” He questions during a lull in our fight. I growl lightly at him, before beginning to attack more furiously. “Why are you hiding that you are still alive?…Everyone would love to know that you are alive.” He continues as he struggles to block my attack. 

“Shut up!” I snarl out, glaring furiously at him. I jump back, sending fire flying at him, wanting to end this fight as quickly as possible. He continues weakly going on about how everyone misses me and how sad ‘Pops’ was that I was gone. “Just shut up Thatch! I know the truth, stop lying to me.” I yell out, sending a huge ball of fire, knocking him out of the cave with a scream. I run to where he landed, finding him knocked out, or dead, I didn’t really check to see which. I drag him away from the cave, leaving his body lying, covered by a bush, and make my way back to the cave to contemplate my plan and get more sleep.


	9. Chapter 8

It has been about eight hours since Thatch has left for his walk, I know that he is strong and everything, but after what happened to Marco, I can’t help but worry, so I decided to send a few people to look for him, just to be sure. They had left about 20 minutes ago, so they should be back soon. Taking a deep drink from my sake, I look around at all of my sons, all of whom are completely tense. Not that I could blame them. First Ace gets killed, then Marco gets attacked and now Thatch has been gone for eight hours. Someone is obviously targeting us, I have a lot of enemies, but I cannot think of any of them that would be able to take down any of my boys. 

The news of Ace struck everyone hard. No one could believe that he would fall in battle like that. Tavaris boards the Moby Dick and walks towards my chair, looking downtrodden and wrapped in bandages. “I’m sorry Pops.” he whispers, coming to a stop in front of my but refusing to raise his head.

“What happened? Are you alright? Where is Ace?” I ask concerned. He begins shaking his head, before sighing deeply.

“We…we were ambushed. As soon as we landed, hundreds of people swarmed us, we tried fighting but, they got Ace. He…he is dead Pops. One was a Devil Fruit user, I don’t know what his power was, but there was nothing left of Ace once he got hit, all we found was his hat.” he says, holding the familiar orange hat out to me. I shakily take it in my hand, feeling sadness at losing my newest son. 

“Who was it?” I ask angrily, wanting to get revenge.

“I…I don’t know. I didn’t recognize any of them…I’m sorry.” he replies, looking down sadly. Nodding my head, I tell him that it is fine, he did all he could. He nods his head and walks back to his ship.

I am broken out of my thought by the sound of running and yells. Standing up quickly, I turn toward the sound to find my sons returning, carrying an unconscious and bloody Thatch. Sighing heavily, I fall back into my chair, feeling my age for the first time in a very long time. Calming down, I stand back up and walk to infirmary, where the nurses are rushing around, hooking Thatch up to multiple machines and wrapping him in bandages. One of the nurses notices me standing in the doorway and rushes over to fill me in.

“He seems to just be unconscious, he has a gash on the back of his head, he was either hit with a blunt object or sent flying against a rock. He also has multiple burns covering his body. The worst of his injuries is a large burn on his chest, he will probably have a scar for the rest of his life, but he should be awake in the next day or two.” I nod my head, happy to hear that he wasn’t so badly injured. 

I head back to the cave, carrying the boar I had found for dinner, but as I get closer, I notice broken twig scattered around the mouth of it. Dropping the boar, I run forward, noticing that the bush is now empty. They had found Thatch, and my hiding spot. Cursing out loud, I turn around and head back into the forest. I no longer had a place to hide, so I guess I would just have to speed up my plan. I begin my walk through the forest, headed towards the Moby Dick. It was time to face Whitebeard.


	10. Chapter 9

Sitting on the tree, I watch silently as everyone runs around, most leaving the ship to search for me, though they don’t exactly who they are looking for, while others get supplies and food for the nurses and people on watch. After about 10 minutes, I watch as Whitebeard sends the last of his sons off on some task, before lifting his sake and taking a long drink. Jumping down, I quickly make my way to the ship, jumping up on deck. I slowly make my way to the giant chair that Whitebeard is currently sitting on, staring at me wide-eyed, his bottle of sake slipping from limp fingers, to clatter onto the deck.

“A…Ace?” he asks in shock, forcing himself to stand. Instead of answering him, I jump towards him, my fist on fire and held high above my head. The hit lands directly in the middle of his chest, but he just stands there, staring at me, not moving an inch or showing any sign that I had hit him at all. Growling furiously, I begin rapidly hitting him, but still, he just stands there staring at me as if he couldn’t believe it. Growing frustrated, I try putting more power behind my attacks, but he wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. I struggle to escape, not knowing what exactly he was trying to. “They told me you were dead, Ace.” he whispers softly.

“It takes more than that to kill me old man,” I snarl once I had broken free of his hold. I glare angrily at him before shooting a fire ball at him, which he smacks away like nothing. I continue throwing fire ball after fire ball, but he just continues standing there like nothing is happening. “Fight back…try and kill me….try to do what your fucking lackeys couldn’t!” I scream, filled with rage. 

“Ace, I would never try to kill you. You are my son…”

“Don’t give me that bullshit old man. They told me everything! So fight me. Do what you wanted done, what everyone wants done and kill the bastard son of your dead rival.” I yell beginning my attacks again. He stares at me confused for a second before sighing softly and walking towards me, deflecting all of my attacks with ease.

“You know I never cared who your father was. You are my son now and that is all that matters.” he insists, stopping just a few feet in front of me.

“I am not your son. I’m no one’s son,” I scream, leaping toward him, creating a wall of fire after noticing how many members of his crew have gathered. Sending fist after fist flying, I get more and more aggravated at his lack of response. “Fight me, old man!” 

Sighing softly, he gets into his fighting stance, not even grabbing his bisento. Feeling adrenaline rush through my veins, I smirk, preparing to attack more seriously. Sending fists and fireballs as fast as I could, some of which, thankfully, hit. But he was sending fists flying just as quickly, most of which hit. I was now standing unsteadily on my feet, blood running down my face and chest. I jump forward again, fist raised high, but his fist connects with my cheek before I can land a hit, sending me flying through my flame wall, as well as the wall of the ship. Blinking away the blood, I try to stand, only to black invade my vision. I stumble forward a step, and then nothing. 

To say I was surprised to see Ace standing on deck would be an understatement, but when he began attack and going off on his rant, everything started to make sense. There was never any ambush, they attacked Ace and then told him it was my orders. Which caused Ace to attack his brother and lover, but who knows what all he was put through these last few months. 

Sighing sadly, I sit heavily on my chair and call for another bottle of sake, and for someone to take Ace to the infirmary. I’m not angry at Ace for attacking Marco and Thatch, he probably believes that everything that has happened since he joined my crew was some sort of ploy so that our betrayal would hurt worse, that we only wanted to make him suffer as much as possible, and it is not like he had killed them or anything. Marco was a close call, but the nurses say he should recover, with time. Sighing again, I drown my bottle of sake, trying to figure out how to fix the mess I suddenly find myself in.


	11. Chapter 10

Blinking my eyes open, I painfully sit up and look around. I was in Moby Dick’s infirmary, which only made sense since the last thing I remember was Ace sending a huge fire ball at me. Looking down, I notice the thick bandages wrapped around my chest. Swinging my legs around, I start to stand, only to be pushed back down by one of the nurses.

“Where do you think you are going?” she asks, her hands firmly on her hips and a glare on her face. Sighing softly, I lay back down, no one ever got their way with the nurses. “That’s better. You were injured quite badly, you have been out for a few days. But not as badly as Marco, he is still not showing any sign of waking. Ace really did a number on him.” she idly says, checking my wounds.

“Ace? When did everyone find out it was Ace?” I asked confused, what all had happened since I fought him?

“Hmm? Oh, he attacked Pops the day you were brought in. Ace was in a frenzy, yelling and cursing, saying something about how Pops should just kill him instead of sending his lackeys to do it or something. But Pops said that even though he won’t ask you not to be upset, that we shouldn’t blame Ace for what he did to you and Marco, but I wouldn’t have anyway, I saw a bit of the fight before Ace put up his fire wall, he looked completely broken.” she said sadly, rewrapping my wounds. “You are going to have quite a scar there. But you can get up, just don‘t do any strenuous activities, that means no pranks and no cooking.” she informs before walking away to check on Marco and Ace. 

Standing up, I make my way out of the infirmary, intent on finding some food and then talking to Pops. Making my way to the kitchen, I think of everything that had happened. I couldn’t find myself to be angry at Ace at all, a little hurt that he didn’t trust us, but I have always known that he had trust issues, though I doubt anyone on the ship other than Marco and maybe Pops know why. Sighing softly, I make my way into the kitchen and am greeted happily by the rest of the staff, before they push me into a chair and set a light snack in front of me, informing me that dinner won’t be ready for another hour and a half. Thanking them, I happily begin eating. 

After I am done, I wash my dishes and head up to the deck. Going to the front of the ship, I find Pops sitting in his chair, drinking a bottle of sake. “Hey, Pops,” I greet, once I am right next to him. He turns to look at me, a smile stretching across his face.

“It’s good to see you awake, son,” he replies, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine Pops. Though I have been forbidden to do any pranks until I am completely healed,” I answer with a pout, causing Pops to burst out in laughter. “So…what happened with Ace?” I ask, after the laughter had died down. Growing serious, Pops tells me about their fight, about all of the things that Ace had yelled and I tell Pops about my fight with him. Pops then shares what he believe happened. 

Tavaris had always seemed like a good guy, he was smart, kind and strong. But not much has ever been known about his past. Which is fine, since none of us cared about anyone’s past, the present and future are all that matter. But despite the fact that no one knew anything about him, we all trusted him immensely. It was likely that they had really been ambushed, we couldn’t over look that possibility. But there was a chance, a very big chance, that Tavaris had a grudge against Roger, and took it out on Ace. Who knew that Ace had such a famous father? I guess that does explain why he was so secretive about his bloodline and so hesitant about joining. Most people wouldn’t feel comfortable around the strongest man in the world, especially if they were the son of his dead rival. 

I sit around, talking to Pops for hours, trying to determine our next course of action. It was decided that we would wait at this island, talking to the rest of our, hopefully still, allies and try to find out where Tavaris is. We won’t actually do anything drastic, like attack Tavaris, until both Marco and Ace are awake. Hopefully Ace will believe us when we explain that we had nothing to do with whatever happened to him. Then, once Ace believes us, we will all go and get revenge on whoever it was that hurt our brother so badly, both mentally and physically.


	12. Chapter 11

Blinking my eyes open, I look around confused, not really sure were I was at. I quickly realized that I was in the infirmary on Moby Dick, which just made me even more confused. Why would I be here? I very rarely get hurt in fights, and even when I do, never bad enough to be forced to stay more than a few minutes. Slowly sitting up, I feel a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, looking down, I am shocked to see it wrapped in a thick layer of bandages, which were slowly starting to become red again. Cursing softly, I press a hand against the bloody spot and make my way to my feet, hoping to find some bandages. 

Stumbling around, I finally find them and turn back to go to my bed, only to stop dead at a sight that I cannot believe I missed. There in the bed next to mine was Ace, a little bruised, but still alive, seeming to be sleeping peacefully, the sight of him causing me to remember what had happened. Ace had attacked me, screaming at me and ended up stabbing me with a sea stone coated dagger. Slowly making my way towards his bed, I heavily sit myself in the seat placed next to my bed. Hesitantly reaching my hand out, I slowly begin running my fingers through his hair. 

“What was going through your head, Ace? What would make you think I would ever lie to you? I love you…Pops loves you. We would never lie to you. We would never hurt you.” I say with a sigh, knowing that he probably couldn’t hear me. I continue sitting there, occasionally saying something, my fingers still running through his hair, when the door opens. Quickly turning around, I come face to face with a surprised Thatch, who also looks a little worse for wear. 

“Marco, you’re awake!” he yells happily, making his way towards me. A few steps away from me, he stops, staring at me wide-eyed. “Marco…your wound.” I look down, suddenly remembering why I had gotten out of bed in the fist place. The bandages were now completely red with blood, one of my hands still firmly pressed against it. Thatch sighs loudly before turning around and making his way back out of the infirmary, hopefully to find a nurse. A few seconds later, the door slams open and a, furious, nurse makes her way in, berating me for reopening my wound the second I wake up. She forces me back into my bed, and re-stitches my wound before telling that I wasn’t allowed to get out of bed again for at least a few days, but that she was happy to see my awake and would inform Pops, apparently I had been out for quite a few days, everyone worrying that I wouldn’t wake up. Thanking her quietly, she smiles briefly before walking out the door.

Thatch makes his way to my bedside the second the door closes. “How are you feeling, Marco?” he asks quietly.

“Other than the hole in my abdomen, I feel fine.” I answer. “What happened to you?” 

“What do you think? I went to avenge you of course. Though I didn’t do a very good job of it. He shot a huge fire ball at me, sent me flying, and banged my head against something. I blacked out…He was already here when I woke up. Apparently he got on the ship and attacked Pops.” he informs me. 

I sigh loudly, staring up at the ceiling. I just don’t understand why Ace would do something like this. Did he fake his death, just so he could attack us unaware? Was it all just a lie? Was everything a lie? Him joining us, his friendship with Thatch and everyone else…our relationship. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a shuddering breath, not knowing what to make of it.

“Pops thinks it was a trick by Tavaris. Going by what he was yelling at Pops during their fight. It seems as if Tavaris attacked him and had him convinced it was on Pops’ orders…I doubt he believed it at first…but being locked up for so long can do stuff to you, especially if you already have trust issues as bad as Ace.” he reassures, seeming to know what I was thinking. Smiling, I feel slightly better knowing that Ace wasn’t trying to kill us for no reason, or to just make a name for himself.

“So, what are we going to do?” I ask turning back to face Thatch. 

“Well, right now Pops is working on trying to find Tavaris’ location and waiting for Ace to wake up to find out if that really was what happened.” He informs me, smiling at me. We both turn towards the door, hearing heavy footsteps that could only belong to Pops. The door is once again slammed open and Pops quickly makes his way into the room. Thatch stands up, allowing Pops to have the chair, and walks out, leaving us alone in the infirmary, unless of course you count the comatose Ace. 

“How are you, son?” he asks concerned, staring intently at me. 

“I’m fine Pops, just a little sore,” I answer truthfully. He smiles lovingly at me, before settling in his chair. We spend hours just talking about nothing, when I decide to ask the question I have been wondering since I woke up. “What’s going to happen to Ace, Pops?…I mean, are you mad at him for attacking us?”

Pops stares at me for a few seconds, looking serious. He sighs softly before replying, “I’m not angry at Ace, I do not plan on punishing him in any way. However, you were the one attacked, if you think he should be punished, then no one will stop you.” I nod my head, and stare up at the ceiling.

It has been a few days since I have woken up, I was finally let out of the infirmary yesterday. I am currently on my way back there, to see if Ace has woken up yet, the nurses said that he was starting to show signs that he will wake soon. Sighing slightly, I open the door and make my way into the infirmary. I looked around, not seeing anyway, I make my way over to the bed, only to find it empty. Turning around, I run out onto deck.


	13. Chapter 12

Stumbling through the woods, I try to get as far away from the ship as possible. I didn’t want to be there anymore, I couldn’t be there anymore. I couldn’t be around them anymore, Thatch, Whitebeard…and Marco. Feeling myself become light headed, I slide down against a tree, planning on resting for just a few seconds, wanting to make it to my boat before anyone found me. 

Running out of the infirmary, I push my way through the crowd of crew members gathered on deck, making my way towards Pops. “Pops!” I yell once I am close enough to be heard. He quickly turns to face me, no doubt picking up on the anxiety in my voice. Running the rest of the distance, everyone having moved out of the way, most not used to seeing me so worked up, I stop in front of him. “Ace is gone. His bed is empty, and unmade.” I tell him, looking to hopefully spot a nurse I could ask. His eyes widen and he yells for someone to find a nurse, and for everyone else to begin searching the ship. 

One of the nurses, followed by Thatch comes running towards us. She quickly tells us that Ace shouldn’t even be able to walk right now, the last time she had seen him, not even an hour before, and he still hadn’t woken up. Feeling a little better with the knowledge that he couldn’t be far, but still worried about his health, Thatch and I take off into the forest.

We split up as soon as we enter the forest. I run off towards the right side, searching everywhere for any sign of Ace. I am not losing him again, I will search all day, and night, if that is what it takes. After what feels like hours of me running and yelling, I finally catch sight of a mess of shaggy black hair. Running towards it, I happily realize it is in fact Ace, leaning against a tree asleep. Smiling slightly at his sleeping face, I kneel down beside him, shaking him awake. 

I feel something gently shake my shoulder, groaning slightly, I open my eyes to see Marco kneeling next to me, a small smile on his face. “Hey Ace. How are you feeling?” he asks a smile still firmly on his face. I continue to stare at him, my, still half asleep, mind not processing what was going on. “Why did you run off like that? Everyone is worried about you,” he continues, ignoring the fact that I didn’t answer him.

He gently places his hand on my cheek, snapping me out of my stupor. I swiftly knock his hand away and stand up, trying to get away from him as fast as possible. He quickly grabs my arm, pulling me back down to the ground. “What are you doing, Ace? Surely you realize that we had nothing to do with what happened. We would never hurt you like that Ace.” he whispers, trying to force me to look him in the eyes. I tear my arm from his grip, turning around but making no move to leave again.

“I..I know. I think a part of me knew all along.” I whisper back, feeling tears begin to form. I feel him staring at my back for a few seconds before he stands up. I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting him to yell, or just simply walk away. I startle slightly when I feel his hand resting on my cheek, wiping away the tears I hadn’t even realized were falling. 

“Then why are you running from us, Ace?” I open my eyes in surprise, staring up at the smiling face of Marco. I open and close my mouth a few times, not really knowing what to say. “Come on, let’s head back,” he says, holding his hand out. I slowly shake my head, looking down at my hands.

“I’m not going back.” I say simply, continuing to stare at my clasped hands. He kneels down in front of me, staring at me confused.

“What? If you know that we didn’t betray you, then why won’t you come back?”

I clench my hands tightly before steeling my eyes and looking up at Marco. “I can’t, Marco. Don’t you understand. You didn’t betray me. But I betrayed you and Thatch and Whitebeard. I have no place there anymore. I don’t deserve to be with you all anymore. No, I never deserved to be with you all…I’m so fucking worthless. You all of treated me with nothing but kindness, even when I was trying to kill Whitebeard, but the first time things go wrong I try to kill you and nearly succeed. I have no place there anymore.” I whisper out, trying to stifle the sobs trying to force their way out.

I feel myself suddenly pulled against a strong chest. “None of us blame you, Ace. You were tricked by someone that we thought was trust worthy. We are just glad that you are alive Ace. Please come back to the ship with me. We all miss you….I miss you”

Wrapping my arms around him, I no longer try to keep the tears at bay. I bury my face in his chest, crying loudly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Marco. I love you so much. I…I’m so sorry I hurt you.” I keep repeating how sorry I was and how much I loved him as he held me tightly, whispering word that I couldn’t hear over the sound of my crying, but seemed to comfort me no less. Finally, as my tears began to dry, we stand up and make our way back to the Moby Dick, as I try to prepare myself for facing Pops.


	14. Chapter 13

Marco walks with me to the door to Pops’ room, apparently the nurses had told him that he needed to go lie down for awhile, before running off to find Thatch, who was still out in the woods. Gulping slightly, I hesitantly raise my arm, knocking lightly at the door, not wanting to bother him if he is asleep, and slightly hoping that he is. Much to my dismay, and slight relief, I hear a quiet, at least for Pops, “Come in.” Taking a deep breath, I slowly push the door open, step inside and close it behind me. 

I stand there for a few minutes, staring at the ground as his watches me silently. Finally getting my nerve up, I take a few steps closer to him and look up. “P..Pops?” I whisper quietly. He motions for me to come closer, pointing to the end of his bed. I slowly walk forward and take a sit on the edge, fidgeting slightly. “I’m…I’m sorry…for not trusting you….and for attacking you….and Thatch and Marco.” I whisper, staring down at my hands, which I am currently squeezing together to stop the shaking. I know that Marco said that Pops still loved me and everything, but who wouldn’t be mad at someone for trying to kill them and two of their sons. Hearing the rustle of movement, I squeeze my eyes shut, not really sure what to expect. To say I was shocked when all he did was pull me into a hug would be an understatement. My eyes shot open and I stare off to the side, not really sure what to think. Isn’t he even the least bit mad?

“No one blames you, Ace. I’m just glad that you are alive. I love you, son.” he softly says. Feeling tears begin to flow down my cheeks, I bite my lip, return the hug, as well as I can considering my arms can’t really go around him, and bury my face in his chest, sobbing loudly. He holds me slightly tighter, to the point that it is kind of painful, but I wouldn’t tell him to loosen up for anything in the world. He continues holding me until my sobs finally die down.

Pulling away from him, I wipe my eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed. After I had calmed down enough, I begin telling him everything that had happened. Waking up tied to the mast, Tavaris’ words, the dungeon, the beatings, the rapes, the lack of food or water, the doubts, the fear, Usopp’s arrival, being forced to watch him get raped, Luffy saving us, and my recovering. I didn’t leave out a single detail. I had to tell someone, and there was no one better than Pops. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, Ace.” Pops whispers, pulling me into a hug. “I take it you haven’t told Marco any of this yet?” he asks softly a few minutes later. I pull away, shaking my head. 

“No…I…I’m afraid to tell him. He’ll leave me. He…he wouldn’t want to be with someone as disgusting as me. Not after what happened…Not after what I allowed that man to do to me.” I choke out, trying to stop myself from crying again. I have been crying way too much the past few days. 

“Marco isn’t the type of person to leave someone he loves over something like that. You should tell him, he has a right to know. And it wasn’t your fault. It was Tavaris’ and that bastard who did it. It doesn’t make you disgusting or anything of the sort.” he reprimands firmly. I nod my head. I know that I have to tell him eventually, but I want to enjoy being with him for a little while longer. 

I sit around for a few more minutes, talking to Pops and just enjoying his company. I had thought for sure that I had lost my chance at having a father figure. First when I thought he betrayed me and then when I realized that it had all been a trick. Saying good bye to Pops, I stand up and walk out of the door to search for Thatch. He was pretty easy to find, sitting at the front of the ship talking quietly to Marco. I stay a few feet away, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation and wait for them to finish. 

It doesn’t take long. As soon as they spot me, they make their way towards me. I glance at Marco, who nods his head and heads off in a different direction. Thatch stops in front of me and smiles brightly. “It is good to see you back…and awake,” he says cheerfully, putting an arm around my shoulders. I look up at him in shock for a couple of seconds, before I can finally get the words out.

“You’re not mad that I attacked you? You are not angry that I nearly killed you or Marco? Or that I thought you all had betrayed me?” I asked stunned. Why was no one upset with me? 

“Of course not. It wasn’t your fault. It was that bastard that betrayed us’ fault, and we’ll pay him back for that. Though I do have to admit that I was a little hurt that you didn’t trust us. But I can forgive you for that. And you gave me a rather nifty scar.” he says with a laugh, before dragging me off talking about some prank he was wanting to pull within the next few days. Smiling brightly, I join in, throwing out ideas on ways to make it better and laughing at all his ridiculous ideas that will either fail or make Marco want to kill us.


	15. Chapter 14

Things have mostly gotten back to normal over the past few days. Thatch and I constantly pull pranks, most on Marco. I eat enough food to feed ten people, before promptly falling asleep, face first in my food, I, of course, finish eating once I wake up. I talk with Pops at least once a day about different things, mostly Luffy…and I spend my night securely wrapped in Marco’s arms. I haven’t told him anything yet, which makes me feel a little guilty. But I will tell him eventually, I just want this peace and happiness to last a little longer. 

We are currently headed toward Tavaris’ last known destination. It will take a few weeks to get there, but he just docked there a few says ago, so he should still be there, or close by, by the time we arrive. I can’t wait to see him face to face and pay him back for all he put me through. Sighing softly, I jump down off the rail, I make my mind up. I’ll tell him when we reach the next island. That will give me at least a few days to prepare. Nodding to myself, I head off to the mess hall to get some food.

As the days progress, I am getting more and more anxious and I think Marco is starting to notice. Hearing footsteps approach, I take a deep breath and turn to face Marco, fidgeting slightly. “Hey Marco,” I whisper quietly, looking down at my hands. I flinch slightly when he steps closer, wrapping his arms around me. He sighs softly, backing away from me.

“What’s wrong, Ace? Did I do something to upset you?” he asks, looking at me with hurt and confusion in his eyes. I feel a pang of guilt, I never meant to make Marco upset. He takes a step forward, wiping away tears that I hadn’t even realized were falling. “Please don’t cry. Just tell me what I did and I’ll fix it.“ 

Shaking my head, take a deep breath and begin telling him all that happened. I tell him everything I went through, everything that I felt or thought. I didn’t leave out a single detail. It took longer than it had to tell Pops, my sobs kept forcing me to stop and calm down before I could continue. Finishing my story, I wipe my eyes and look up, without raising my head, at Marco. I flinch, letting out a whimper, when I see his clenched fists and glaring eyes, staring hard at the wall behind me. I let out a shuddering breath, and wrapping my arms around myself. “I’m…I’m sorry Marco…I’m so sorry. I…I understand if you are…are mad at me or hate me….I would also understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore. I wouldn’t blame you,” I stutter out, squeezing my eyes shut to try and stop the tears. 

I tense up as he gets closer, expecting pain and derisive words. When nothing happens, I slowly open my eyes and look up at him through my lashes. He smiles sadly at me, before pulling me into a tight hug. “I could never hate you, Ace. I love you so much, no matter what. I…I am angry, but not at you. Never at you, Ace. I am angry at the bastard that did that, and at Tavaris. And I will make him pay for all that he did.” he whisper quietly in my ear, holding me tightly. I feel tears begin to flow down my cheeks again. I couldn’t believe my luck. What could a worthless bastard, who should have been killed at birth, have done to deserve people who care about me so much? Raising my head, I moan in delight as he kisses me lightly, the first kiss we had shared in months. 

Things started getting better after that day. I stopped worrying as much, and started acting more like myself, I hadn’t even realized my distress was so obvious, but various crew members have commented on how glad they are that I am back to normal. We are also preparing to dock at the island that Tavaris was docked at. I feel slight excitement about being able to get my revenge, and I know that Marco and Pops feel the same way. We sailed around the island and found no sign of his ship, but he should have just left. This is one of Pops’ islands and usually all of the allies stay for a few weeks, to rest up and make sure that no one is causing any trouble. 

Dropping the anchor, Marco and I walk off the ship to ask around town, while the rest of the crew either stocks up or stays to watch the ship. Squeezing his hand tightly, my nerves returning slightly, we begin our walk into town. 

Walking into the first building we come by, which happened to be the pub, we walk up to the bar and ask if they knew anything about where the pirates that had just left were going to. “They only pirates that have been here recently stayed for about a day or two and then on the second night one of the crew members ran in, whispered something to the captain, who stood up quickly, said something about someone knowing and being on their way and then they all left in a hurry.” he replies. We thank him quickly, and run back to the ship to tell Pops what we had found out. Someone else was keeping Tavaris informed. But, whether it is another ally or someone on our own ship, we really had no way of knowing.


	16. Chapter 15

Stopping in front of Pops’ chair, Marco and I struggle to get our breathing under control. “What is it, sons? Did you find something out?” He asks, staring at us in concern. Regaining control over our breathing, we straighten up, looking forlornly at each other before turning back to Pops.

“Yeah, we found something out,” Marco replies, looking off to the side. “Someone tipped him off that we were on our way,” he continues seriously. Pops lets out a heavy sigh, slumping in his chair and covering his face with his hand. I bite my lip in frustration, feeling guilt begin to churn in my gut. This was my fault, I was destroying the one thing this man has ever wanted. I am tearing apart his family. I never wanted this to happen, I just wanted to know what it is like to have a father. To have someone who cares about me. I didn’t want to cause all of this, I didn’t want to ruin the family he already had. I am broken out of my thoughts by a hand squeezing mine. I look up to see Marco smiling lovingly at me. I smile back hesitantly, squeezing his hand in turn, before we both turn back to face Pops. 

“Let’s continue this conversation in my room.” he suggests, standing up. He begins walking to his room, but stops a few feet away. “Izo! Haruta!” the two Division Commanders look up from their spot next to the rail. “Make sure no one loiters around my room, or enters it unless it is an absolute emergency.” he orders. They both nod their head, looking slightly confused but probably figuring that something major had happened, standing up and making their way close to Pops’ door. 

Thanking them, Pops opens his door and makes his way inside, sitting heavily on his bed. Marco and I follow closely behind, each taking a seat at the end of his bed.

“Do we have any idea who it could be?” he asks, staring down at us. We both shake our heads sadly.

“No one has asked permission to use the Den Den Mushi since Ace has returned. So, they either snuck and made the call, or it was someone from an allied crew that you asked about Tavaris’ whereabouts.” Marco replies.

“If it was one of the allies, wouldn’t it have to be someone on the ship that told us where he is? No one else would know that we found out, and especially not when we found out.” I ask, staring up at Pops. He lets out a deep sigh, nodding his head. 

“Get a hold of the captain, make sure no one else is in listening distance on either side. Ask him to keep a look out for any suspicious behavior, and if he can, not to let any of the crew near the Den Den Mushi for a while. We’ll keep an eye out with our crew. After the call, lock our Den Den Mushi as well.” Pops orders, slouching down in his bed. Nodding our heads, we leave the room, wanting to give Pops time to rest, he has been through way too much the past few months. 

Once outside the door, I slump against the wall with my head in my hands. “Ace. Why don’t you go back to our room and get some sleep? You look like you could really use it and I’ll join you in a minute.” Marco suggests, kissing me lightly on the forehead before hugging me tightly. Nodding my head, I lightly kiss him, before making my way to our rooms. Curling up on the bed, I drift off into a restless sleep. 

Waking up a few hours later, I sigh contently feeling Marco’s arm wrapped securely around me. Moving carefully, I turn to face him, smiling softly at how happy he looks. I snuggle closer, burying my head in his bare chest and breath deeply. I wrap my arm around him and try to go back to sleep, but am unable. My mind begins thinking about everything that has happened since I have came back….How tired and sad that Pops looked earlier today. Feeling guilt once again twist at my gut, I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and tense up slightly, trying to stop my self from crying so that I didn’t wake Marco. I know that I failed when I feel his arms tighten around me, but I am passed the point of caring. I wrap my arms tightly around him, sobbing heavily into his chest. He holds me tightly, not saying a word, just running his fingers soothingly through my hair. It takes a few minutes for me to finally calm down. I look bashfully up at Marco, feeling embarrassed for crying so much around him. He smiles softly, kissing me on the head.

“What is it, Ace?” he asks softly. Sighing, I push him onto his back, laying my head on his chest.

“I hate this Marco. I hate this so much.” I cry, gripping his hand tightly. “I…I hate that I’m the reason Pops looks so tired anymore. I’m the reason that the one thing he treasures more than anything in the world is falling apart. I’m taking his family from him, Marco.” 

“Ace…” Marco whispers sadly. I raise my head and look up to see him smiling sadly at me. “Listen to me, Ace. You are part of this family. Pops loves you just as much as he loves every person on this ship. This is hurting him, I won’t lie about that. But you are not the one doing it. He is hurting because people that he thought as sons are going behind his back and doing something they know will hurt him. They are the ones trying to tear this family apart. Not you, Ace,” he assures. I nod my head, laying it back on his chest and slowly drift off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 16

Things have been peaceful for the past few days. We have set sail again, heading to the next island. Tavaris may have a few weeks head start, but we will catch up to him sooner or later. Marco, Pops and I have been keeping an eye out, looking for anyone who is acting the least bit suspicions. But everyone is acting as they always have. It is a little frustrating, not knowing who the traitor is, but I am sure, sooner or later, they will slip and we will find them. 

Currently, everyone is in the mess hall, having dinner. Everyone is laughing, making jokes and pulling pranks, it is almost as if nothing is going on at all. But I know, despite how everyone is acting, they are all on high alert. Sitting between Marco and Thatch, Thatch, once again, begins telling me of one of the many pranks he pulled on Marco before I joined the crew. Laughing loudly, I feel happier than I had since I was taken. I felt as if everything was going to be fine.

It was about 2 in the morning when I was proven wrong. I was sleeping peacefully, wrapped securely in Marco’s arms, when we were both startled awake by someone screaming. Jumping out of bed and quickly dressing, we race out of the room, running towards the back of the ship, where the scream came from. The entire crew was gathered at the area. Pushing our way through, we stare in shock at the deck, where an unconscious Thatch is lying, in a pool of blood. The nurses push their way through the crowd, their equipment in hand. They stop the bleeding and begin cleaning and stitching the wound, afraid to try moving him before hand. Once they are finished, two of the nurses carry him towards the infirmary as the other turns toward Pops. 

“He has lost a lot of blood, Pops. He needs a transfusion or there will be no chance of him surviving.” she says sadly. He nods his head and turns to face the gathered crowd.

“Thatch needs blood. Do any of you have blood type S RH- and are willing to give some to your brother?” he asks, loud enough for everyone on the ship to hear him. There is silence for a few seconds, before a voice answer.

“I do, Pops. I’ll head to the infirmary right away.” 9th division commander, Blenheim, yells out before turning around and running towards the infirmary. 

“Did anyone see any ships approach or leave?” he asks looking around.

“I was on watch tonight Pops. I didn’t see any ships approach. I’m the one that found Thatch…I…I didn’t even think to look for a ship. I was too focused on stopping the bleeding and getting someone’s attention…sorry,” one of the crew members reply, looking down ashamed.

“You did fine son. You might have saved your brother’s life.” Pops says kindly, patting him on the head. “But this shows that we have a different problem. It was someone on this ship that attacked him. I doubt they would have stayed. So, everyone, report in to your commander, 9th division, report to Marco. If anyone is missing, report to me immediately.” Pops orders before turning around and making his way to his cabin. 

All of the commanders rush off to their offices to get a list of the people in their division, before rushing back to the deck. Thankfully, by the time that we all had returned, most of the crew had already grouped themselves together by their division. It still took about an hour, given the size of our crew, but finally, everyone on deck was marked off the list. Looking through the names, I notice one person from my division had not checked in. I begin asking the rest of the crew, but no one had seen him since going to bed. 

Cursing softly, I begin checking the barracks, the wash room, the mess hall, everywhere I could think of. But he wasn’t there. Sighing loudly, I make my way to Pops’ room, knocking softly on the door. Walking in, I take a seat at the end of his bed, putting my head in my hands.

“Teach is missing,” I say quietly. I hear him sigh loudly, before laying a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Then I guess we know who our traitor is.” he answers, just as quietly. “Go tell everyone that they can go back to bed, you and Marco get some sleep, too. I know how hard this must be for you.” Nodding my head, I bid him goodnight and walk back on deck, still not believing that someone from my division would do something like this.


	18. Chapter 17

“You don’t understand, Marco. He is part of my division, it is my responsibility.” I argue getting frustrated. Why couldn’t he understand? It was my duty as Second Division Commander to punish anyone is the second division who has broken a rule, and he broke the most important rule. 

“I won’t let you leave, Ace. Pops doesn’t want you going after him alone and neither do I. It is not your fault. Besides, he has probably already met up with Tavaris. We will find them and then we can make them pay for everything they have done. Just be patient.” Marco replies calmly from his seat on the bed. I sigh loudly, running a hand through my, already disheveled, hair. Walk over, I slump down beside him.

“I know, I just…What if Thatch doesn’t make it, Marco? He still hadn’t fully recovered from his fight with me. I know that you and Pops keep saying that it isn’t my fault, but it is Marco. If I never joined then Tavaris would have no reason to do anything against Pops’ wishes, Teach would still be part of the crew and Thatch wouldn’t be so close to death…again.” I say, guilt burning in my gut. Marco lets out a small sigh before wrapping his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against him.

“There is no way of knowing if that is true. Tavaris might have found another reason to go against Pops, Teach might have attacked Thatch for a different reason, there is no way of knowing, Ace. If you hadn’t joined us you would still be a bitter little brat and I would still be a lonely old man,” he whispers, pressing a kiss against my cheek. I laugh lightly, laying my head on his shoulder.

“I just want this to end. I want things to go back to the way they were. I want everyone to be happy, knowing that their siblings will always help them when they need it. I don’t like how stressed and mistrusting this is making everyone,” I confess, staring sadly at the wall opposite us. He holds me a little tighter, laying his head on top of my own.

It has been a week since Thatch was attacked and a week since Marco forbade me from going after Teach. I hate this sitting around. Pops still hasn’t found any information. He is still really iffy about asking the allies for help at the moment, still not sure if there is another person tipping Tavaris off or not. So, we have pretty much been sitting on our asses doing nothing. If we don’t find something soon, I might go crazy. I really don’t want to do it, but I might have to go against Marco and Pops’ wishes and try to track him down myself. It would be much easier with only one person tracking them. It would be harder for them to detect us, the Moby Dick is pretty big and unique, anyone that saw it would know that it is the Whitebeard Pirates. But I don’t want to break their trust again…but everything will be fine if Tavaris and Teach are caught, regardless of how…Right?

Sighing loudly, I get out of bed and make my way onto the deck. Coming to the front of the deck, I notice Pops and Marco talking quietly. Deciding not to interfere with their conversation, I turn around I make my way to the infirmary, I have been trying to visit with Thatch at least once every day. Gently pushing open the door, I greet the nurse who is currently on duty.

“Hey Ace. He still hasn’t shown any signs of waking, but you are, of course, welcome to sit with him awhile.” she says with a smile. I nod my thanks and make my way over to Thatch’s bed. I grab his hand, taking the seat next to his bed. 

“Hey, Thatch. How are feeling today? Hopefully that burn isn’t given you too much trouble, I’m still really sorry about that…I know, I know you don’t think it was my fault. But I still feel really bad about it…I feel really bad the whole Teach thing as well. Pops and Marco still won’t let me go after him, knowing you, you agree with them though…I hope you wake up soon Thatch. It’s pretty lonely without you around. I have no one to help me pull pranks or steal food or anything…and you need to wake up before we find them, so that we can get revenge together…Okay, Thatch?” I sit with him for a few more hours, just telling him everything that came to mind, before heading back out on to the deck.


	19. Chapter 18

“Marco, we found them. We are stopping at one more island, to stock up on everything we need, then we will declare our attack. Tell everyone to get anything they will need to fight, at the next island…But I believe it is best if Ace doesn’t know yet.” Pops tells me, take a drink from his sake. “We should be landing within the week. We will only be spending a couple of days there. We don’t have any time to waste.”

“Yeah. That is probably best. If he knew we were close, he would just run off alone…Okay, I’ll inform everyone.” I answer before standing up and making my way onto the deck. Telling everyone with Ace finding out turned out to be harder than anticipated. He seemed to be everywhere, and I couldn’t just ignore him, that would defiantly make him suspicious. But I finally got it done, after he feel asleep in his dinner and stayed later than everyone else to eat everything he had left. After I made sure everyone was aware of the situation, and had them promise not to tell or hint anything to Ace, I collapse on our bed with a sigh. I can’t believe that in less than two weeks, this whole ordeal will, hopefully, be over and we can all go back to how things use to be. 

A grin spreads across my face, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Jumping down from the rail, I rush to Pops’ chair. “Look Pops!” I yell excitedly, thrusting the binoculars towards him. Looking confused, he takes the binoculars and stares in the direction I was pointing.

“What am I looking at? All I see is the island. Surely you are not this excited about a single island,” he replies looking amused.

“No!” I moan in exasperation, “the ship, Pops. Do you see the ship?” he looks through the binoculars again, before nodding his head, still looking slightly confused. “That’s Luffy, Pops. That’s my little brother’s ship!” I yell in excitement, causing him to burst out in loud laughter. 

“So, I’ll finally get to meet the little brother you are always talking about?” he asks, smiling lovingly at me.

“Yep. You’ll love him, Pops. He is so funny and adorable, a little slow sometimes and a little dimwitted, and he eats more than I do, but he is great, Pops.” I tell him excitedly, smiling brightly up at him. 

“I look forward to it, maybe we should hold a banquet tonight, it is still morning, so the cooks have plenty of time to prepare everything. You should go inform the cooks…and probably warn Marco,” I nod my head, running off, Pops laughing loudly behind me.

I jumped over the rail as soon as we landed, wanting to find Luffy as soon as possible. I take off running towards the ship, which is docked on a different beach, most pirate get nervous when another pirate ship approaches theirs, especially if it is Moby Dick. Jumping onto the rail, I am sad to find no sign of Luffy. I walk around the deck for a few seconds, finding Zoro leaning against the mast asleep. After waking him, and coming in close contact with the edge of his sword, he informs me that Luffy and the others are in town. Thanking him, I jump off the ship and begin running towards the town. 

Shaking my head in amusement, I watch Ace run off towards his brother’s ship. Making sure everyone knew what they needed to take care of, and getting a list of things the cooks needed since they were too busy cooking to be able to pick it up themselves, I make my way into town. I was expecting it to be a rather uneventful trip, since Ace wasn’t around to cause trouble. But that thought was proven wrong as soon as I stepped foot into the town.

“Hey! You’re one of the Whitebeard Pirates, aren’t you?” some kid, who looked slightly familiar, yells running towards me. I nod my head in confusion, not really sure why he wanted to know. Before I could ask, a fist comes flying towards me, leaving me barely enough time to dodge. “You’re the one who hurt, Ace!” he yells out in fury, and it suddenly hits me who this kid is. I now find myself in a bind, I can’t fight him, Ace would absolutely hate me if I hurt his dear little brother, but he isn’t really giving me any time to say anything. Cursing my luck, I decide to just focus on dodging until an opportunity to escape arises.

Running towards the town, I hear a commotion. I could hear someone yelling and a lot of this getting broken…there was also quite the crowd gathered. Pushing my way through, I stare in shock at the sight of Luffy attacking Marco, who wasn’t even trying to fight back. 

“Luffy!” I yell loudly, jumping in front of Marco.

“Ace!” he yells back happily, getting out of his fighting stance for a second, before taking it again. “Isn’t this one of the people who betrayed you, Ace? I’m going to kick his ass for you,” he says glaring at Marco.

“No, Luffy. I was wrong. Calm down and I’ll tell you what happened. Marco isn’t an enemy.” I tell him calmly, smiling happily when he complies. I turn around and apologize to Marco, who just waves it off, before dragging Luffy off, his crew following behind. Sitting against a tree, I inform Luffy of everything I had found out and everything that had happened since I joined back up with the Whitebeards. 

“I want to help you fight.” he demands looking at me seriously. 

“No, Luffy. This is my fight, you don’t need to get involved.” I answer, ruffling his hair.

“It is my fight, too. They hurt my brother…and the people who hurt Usopp will probably be there. That makes it my fight as well.” he argues, crossing his arms. Sighing softly, I stand up and stretch.

“We’ll talk about it later, Luffy. How about you go get Zoro and come to our ship. Pops says we are throwing a party tonight and I want you to meet him…and properly meet Marco.” I say with a smile. He cheers loudly, probably at the thought of food and runs off to his ship, leaving me and the rest of his crew to follow behind.


	20. Chapter 19

The banquet went on for the majority of the night. The crews mingled, laughed, talked, played pranks and had drinking contests together. Everyone looked happier and more carefree than they had in months. For those few hours, I truly felt that everything was going to be okay. We all began falling asleep close to dawn. We woke up later than evening and finished stocking up on everything we need, we would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so that everyone had time to get over their hangover and rest a bit. 

Getting up early the next morning, I say goodbye to Luffy and his crew before heading back to Moby Dick to help. A few hours after we set sail, as I am leaning against a railing, staring out at sea, Marco comes to stand beside me. 

“Ace. There is something I need to tell you. We have a reason for keeping it from you until now, so don’t get mad, okay?” he says, not looking at me. I suddenly start to feel very anxious, what could Marco have to talk about that would upset me. I turn to face him, though he still continues staring out at sea.

“What is it, Marco?” I ask nervously. He sighs slightly before turning to face me.

“The real reason we stopped at this island was to stock up on ammo and fix our weapons. We found Tavaris, that is where we are heading to now.” he says, looking at me seriously. “We will be there in the next couple of days, he has no idea we are coming so he shouldn’t leave the island. Please don’t do anything reckless.” I lower my head, letting that information sink in for a second before raising my head to look at Marco again.

“I thought something like that was going on, everyone has been acting weird around me lately. You know…I wouldn’t have left to go after him. They got the best of me once…and who knows how I would have reacted if the person who held me captive is there or if I saw Teach. I’m not mad that you didn’t tell me or anything. I understand why you did it. I do seem to have a habit of reckless behavior.” I assure him, smile softly. I reach out, taking his hand and turn back to face the sea. 

“We will beat them, right Marco? We will beat Tavaris and everything will go back to normal, right? Thatch will wake up and everyone will be happy again. Everyone will smile and play pranks…we’ll be a family again, right Marco?” I ask after a few moments of silence. I know that we have had this conversation before, but I just needed to be reassured. I needed to know that I ruin our family beyond repair. 

“Of course it will Ace. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” He tells me, squeezing my hand tightly. “Thatch will wake up in no time. You and him will play pranks on everyone, driving me crazy. Everyone will be happy, just wait.” I squeeze his hand back as we continue staring out to sea. We stay out there, in silence, for a few hours before heading to bed. 

A few days passed and the island is finally in sight. I start feeling nervous the second we see the island and Tavaris’ ship. No one is standing on the beach or anything, so I guess they aren’t expecting us, but I am sure they have seen our ship by now. I notice someone stopping behind me, turning around I smile softly at Marco before turning back to face the island.

“You alright, Ace?” he asks wrapping his arms around my waist. He kisses the top of my head before setting his chin on my shoulder. I sigh lightly, laying my hand over his.

“I don’t know, Marco. I want to get revenge so badly, but…I don’t know. I feel nervous for some reason.” I answer honestly, leaning back. He tightens his grip slightly, not saying anything. We stand there is silence for a few minutes, only for it to be broken by a huge splash as something lands in the water a few feet away. Automatically assuming it is an attack, Marco and I getting in to fighting stances, as the rest of the crew rush towards us. As the water subsides, I stare in shock, mouth agape at what I saw. Right there, next to our ship, sailing towards the island that held Tavaris and Teach was none other than the Thousand Sunny…None other than Luffy, who was currently standing at the railing, grinning broadly and waving at me. My shock slowly faded, and my eyes narrowed as I snapped my jaws shut. Standing on our own railing, I jump over to his ship, Marco following me in his phoenix form.

“What the hell are you doing here, Luffy?” I demand, glaring at him furiously. His grin only broadens as he answers.

“We’re going to fight, too!” he declares happily. 

“We knew you all were headed here, and that you wouldn’t agree if we just asked to fight. So, we followed you at a safe distance and then used coup de burst to catch up with you,” Nami answered standing next to Luffy. “We have just as much right to fight as you do,” she insists as I open my mouth to demand they leave. Looking around, I notice the determined look on everyone’s face and realize that nothing I do can change there mind. Sighing, I nod my head and head back to the Moby Dick.


	21. Chapter 20

Getting back on the Moby Dick, I sigh loudly before Marco and I make our way to Pops’ chair, where the rest of the crew has already gathered. “I take it the Straw Hats will be joining us?” Pops asks us as we come to stand next to him with the rest of the commanders. 

“Yeah, he claims to have a right to fight and won’t listen to a word I say,” I grumble, pouting slightly. Pops lets out a loud laugh, as some of the others snicker quietly, before nodding his head and turning back to face everyone else. 

“As long as he doesn’t get in anyone’s way, there shouldn’t be a problem.” he laughs out before addressing everyone, “We need a few people to stay on the ship to make sure no one tries to attack Thatch while he is still unconscious.” There was a few seconds of discussion throughout the crowd before everyone nods their heads. “Good, we will be landing within the next couple of hours, everyone go and prepare yourselves.” I grab Marco’s hand and we head to our room.

“Are you ready, Ace? You seem kinda nervous.” Marco points out as we lounge on our bed. I sigh slightly, rolling over to face him.

“I wish Luffy wasn’t here. He is so reckless and never thinks about the danger of any situation.” I confess, biting my lip and idly moving my fingers over Marco’s arm.

“That’s one thing he takes after you, huh?” Marco asks, laughing lightly. “Your brother is strong, Ace. He wouldn’t have made it this far, or have such a high bounty if he wasn’t. He doesn’t need you to worry about him anymore than you need him to worry about you.” 

“I guess you’re right,” I say with a sigh. “I just don’t want anything to happen to him, you know?”

“I know, Ace. But it would be like me trying to stop you from fighting just because you don’t like to think things through…Now, how about we finish getting ready and you go can over to his ship and stay there until we land.” I nod my head in agreement, stand up and strap my dagger in. I kiss Marco goodbye and head over to Luffy’s ship, wanting to spend some time there but planning on getting back on Moby Dick before we began the attack.

“Ace! I’m not turning back. I’m fighting too.” Luffy yells as soon as I step foot on the ship.

“I know, Lu. There is no way to stop you. Just be careful, alright Luffy?” I say, taking a seat on a nearby barrel. Luffy nods his head excitedly, sitting down in front of me. “We have no idea how many people are going to be there…and the guy who kept Usopp and I captive may be there as well,” I say, smiling sadly at Usopp, who flinched at the news. Others sent him sad looks as well, so I guess he had informed them of all that had happened. “They don’t care to fight dirty, which I’m sure you all know…so just watch yourselves….and do not rush in there alone, these are strong people. We want the least amount of injuries as possible. So, prepare yourselves, we will be starting in less than an hour,” I inform them, before jumping back over to the Moby Dick. 

I make my way through the crowd and stop beside Marco. I grab his hand, as we stare out towards the sea and cannon fire begins. I watch emotionlessly as their ship sinks, not liking the fact that no one was returning fire and that there is still no one on the beach. That could only mean one of two things; they either weren’t here or they were hiding in the forest with the hopes of an ambush. 

“Stick together and stay alert,” Whitebeard tells us calmly as we get close enough to the island to debark. Jumping off of the ship we all begin slowly and cautiously making our way into the forest. As we reach the edge, a loud shout sounds behind us, causing us all to start and quickly turn around. I stare wide-eyed as I watch Luffy, yelling and laughing loudly, disappear into the forest, alone. Cursing softly, I take off running after him, ignoring the shouts from Marco telling me to stay put.


	22. Chapter 21

Rushing into the woods, I look wildly around, trying to find any trace of Luffy. I hear a loud burst of laughter to my right that could only belong to Luffy. Cursing again, I take off running. I don’t know what he was think rushing off like he did. I even warned him not to do this exact thing. He is way too carefree and reckless. I speed up, just knowing that if he is alone he will get into a ton of trouble. 

Reaching a clearing, I curse again. I hate when I am right about things like this. There Luffy was, surrounded by Tavaris and some of his men. I look around quickly, noting happily that neither Teach nor the guy who held Usopp and I captive were around, but they had to be somewhere on the island. Sighing slightly, I light my fist up and charge in. I fight my way to the center, dodging swords and bullets with my ability and hitting anyone who got close enough. Finally reaching the center, I turn my back towards Luffy, both of us in fighting position.

“You’re too reckless Luffy. Why did you run off like that?” I ask, sending a fire ball at the group of people charging towards us. He lets out a loud laugh, his limps swinging wildly, knocking a good portion of the enemies on his side down.

“What do you mean? I just want to kick that guy’s ass. The one who hurt you and Usopp. But these people stopped me first,” he explains as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I stand in shock, did he really not know who he was fighting? Shaking my head, I snap out of my shock induced stupor, just in time to shift to my fire form before the oncoming blade hit me. I shake my head, smiling fondly as we continue defeating Tavaris’ lackeys. 

It didn’t take long before they were scattered around us, either dead or unconscious. Luffy looks at me, his broad smile in place as he calmly puts his hat back on. But all of my attention was behind him, where Tavaris stood, swing the chain of his kusarigama smirking at us. 

“Well, well Fire Fist, I must admit, I didn’t think I would be seeing you anytime soon…and arriving with Whitebeard no less. But I didn’t hear you caused quite a few problems. Putting Marco and Thatch in the infirmary. Quite a feat.” he praises laughing loudly. I glare at him furiously, my hatred for him growing. I send a fire ball his way, but he seems to easily dodge it as he continues laughing. 

My anger rising, I charge at him, my fists blazing and held high above my head. He stops laughing, but continues smirking at me as he grips tightly to the handle and swings the chain towards me. I don’t try to dodge it, instead I turn my body into flames and continue advancing towards him. I am stopped suddenly in my tracks as the chain wraps tightly around my throat. He yanks the chain forward, causing me to stumble and fall onto the ground.

“You can’t careless, Fire Fist. Do you really think I wouldn’t coat my weapon in sea stone knowing that Whitebeard is after me. You were a fool to drop your guard like that and now you are going to pay for it. I curse lightly, trying to get the chain unwrapped, but I can already feel my energy draining. I was quickly losing oxygen and Tavaris was slowly walking towards me, the sickle swinging in front of him. I squeeze my eyes shut, cursing my stupidity. 

He comes to a stop, standing above me, smirking gleefully. “This is the end, Fire Fist.” He says before raising his arm high above his head. I close my eyes, silently apologizing to Luffy, Pops and Marco…and to Thatch, for not being able to get back at the person who hurt him. I keep my eyes close, waiting for the hit, when I hear a low grunt followed by a thud. I feel the chains loosen enough for me to pull them off before opening my eyes. 

I look up in shock, seeing Luffy standing there glaring off to the side. Sitting up, I look over to see Tavaris getting up from where he was lying on the ground, one arm wrapped around his middle. “Who the hell do you think you are, you little brat?” he yells out in anger, glaring furiously at him.

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy. I’m going to become the Pirate King,” Luffy answers seriously. Tavaris stares at him for a few seconds before reaching behind him. My eyes widen when I realize he has a gun, no doubt with sea stone laced bullets. I jump up, racing towards Luffy just as the gun goes off.


	23. Chapter 22

We all watch Luffy take off into the woods as soon as we landed. We kept telling him not to run off like that, he agreed with us but I don’t think any of us really expected him to follow through. Shaking our head, we followed him into the woods, though Usopp, Chopper and Nami were a little hesitant to follow. Once we enter the woods, we decide to split up. Robin, Zoro and Nami head off in one direction, Franky, Brooke and Chopper head off in another, leaving Usopp and I to go to search together. Which was fine by me.

Not long after we take off running are we surrounded by a multitude of enemies, but they didn’t look too strong, so I wasn’t that worried about it. I smile fondly when I notice Usopp lowering his goggles and readying his slingshot after only a slight hesitation, he really is becoming braver. Throwing my leg out, I send the guy trying to sneak up on me flying before turning my attention back to the enemies. Lighting up a cigarette, I swiftly begin kicking anyone close enough. 

We make quick work of the enemies that had surrounded us. I turn to face Usopp, a proud smile on my face, which instantly drops as soon as I notice his expression. His skin had become ashen, his eyes were wide and terror filled, his bottom lip clasped tightly between his teeth. “Usopp? What’s wrong?” I ask, cautiously making my way towards him, getting more worried as he doesn’t even acknowledge my presence. Looking over to where he is staring, I notice a guy leaning against a tree, grinning. 

“Well, hello Usopp…Are you here to have some more fun?” he leers, causing Usopp to let out a whimper and curl into himself slightly. Then it suddenly clicks. This is the bastard who kept Usopp locked up….This is the sick bastard who used Usopp for his own amusement. 

“Usopp. Go back to the ship, babe.” I tell him, not taking my eyes off of the guy leaning against the tree. “Usopp!” I yell after noticing that he made no movement or any sign that he had heard me. He jumps slightly, but turns to face me. “Go back to the ship, Usopp…I’ll take care of this bastard.” He seems ready to disagree but nods, turns around and runs off. 

“Oh…are you his little lover? He is a pretty good fuck, huh?…After I kill you, I might just chase him down and have a little stress relief.” he says with a loud laugh. I feel myself fill with rage as I launch myself at him, aiming a kick at his head. He continues to laugh as he unsheathes his sword. 

Cursing slightly, I watch as Ace runs off after his brother. Shaking my head, I turn back to face the forest where we were getting ready to enter and begin walking in, leading the men through the dense forest. I had hoped that we could sneak in silently and get the jump, but of course that didn’t work out. The trees were tightly packed together, leaving barely enough for us to make our way through, meaning there wasn’t room for Pops, who took it upon himself to fix that…by swiftly cutting down a few trees. 

I let out a loud sigh, but decide against saying anything, it wouldn’t really help any in our situation. We continue making our way through the forest, no longer worried about how much sound we make, just making sure no one wondered off and keeping our eyes open for any sign of an attack. Feeling a sudden presence, I sharply look around, my eyes almost instantly locking onto to the massive figure, which could only be Teach, standing a few feet away. I don’t know how I could have missed his approach. Teach was never one known for being the sneaky type. 

“Pops,” I say, seeing that he had also noticed the figure and pulled out his weapon. “Let me take care of him.” I insist. Pops stares at me for a few seconds before nodding his head and motioning for the rest of the crew to follow him deeper into the woods. I rush towards him, quickly shifting to my hybrid form as he pulled out a gun and began shooting. Swiftly kicking the gun out of his hand, I begin attacking him, talons out and ripping at his skin. 

I leave Marco behind, secure in the knowledge that there was no way he would lose to someone like Teach. Followed by the rest of the crew, I begin making my way further into the forest. I stop suddenly as I notice a lone figure making their way towards us, hand firmly on top of their head, holding a hat into place. 

“Hello, Pops,” he greets, grinning widely. 

“Tavaris! What did you do to Ace?” I demand, looking calmly at him, but gripping my bisento a little bit tighter. 

“I just got rid of some trash, Pops. It was for your own good, I promise.” he says as if it were the most obvious thing ever, smiling slightly at me, his hand still firmly on the bright orange hat. 

“All of you, search the forest! Find Ace and take him back to the Moby Dick.” I command, not looking at the men behind me, just trusting that they will follow my orders. 

“Why are you trying so hard to protect him? He is the son of that damned Gold Roger! Doesn’t that matter to you at all?” he yells, glaring furiously at me. 

“No one’s past or heritage matter to me at all. You should know that Tavaris. He is my son, and that is all that matters now,” I reason, just before Tavaris launches himself at me, throwing the hat to the side.


	24. Chapter 23

I look down at the mangled mess beneath my talons. Jumping off him, I shift back to full human and stare, slightly repulsed at the mess I had made. Teach was barely recognizable anymore. Skin was hanging off him in strips, his face mangled…I think even one of his eyes were missing. I hadn’t actually meant to go this far. I had planned on a quick clean death, although I know he doesn’t really deserve it. But when he started cracking jokes about Ace’s capture and rape…and about him nearly killing Thatch, I had just lost it. I saw nothing but red, all I wanted to do was to cause him as much pain as possible. Like he did to Pops, Ace, Thatch and the rest of out family. 

Sending his body one last glare, I take off running after Pops, not really having to look hard for where he went, just following the trail of knocked over trees. I come upon the clearing to find Pops fighting furiously with Tavaris. I look around for the men that had followed him, when my eyes are drawn to a spot of bright orange a few feet away from the fight. Cautiously making my way closer, I gasp in recognition. 

“Ace…” I whisper softly, picking up the unmistakable hat. I look around, not really sure what to do. I know that Pops is strong enough to handle himself, but I don’t really want to leave him alone…But I wanted to find Ace as soon as possible. I had to make sure he was okay. I can’t lose him, not again. 

“Go Marco!” I shift my gaze over to Pops, who seems to be focusing all his attention on Tavaris. But as I look at him, he glances at me quickly and nods him head. That was all I need to take off into the woods, looking around wildly for any sign of Ace, or our other men. I run for what seems like hours, before making it to a clearing where a group of my brother’s were crowded. 

“Commander Marco,” someone is the crowd gasps out, causing everyone else to turn and look at me. They all silently move out of the way, opening a path to the two bodies lying on the grass. My eyes widen as the hat slips through my fingers and I stagger towards them. Falling to my knees, I look at the comatose bodies before me. I take in the white bandages that are already becoming soaked in red and the pale skin. 

“They are alive. But just barely. We had just finished bandaging them up when you arrived, Commander. We were getting ready to head back to the Moby Dick, to let the doctors look at them. But we need to hurry. I doubt they have very long like this.” I am broken out of my thoughts. Shaking my head, I look at the men around me. I nod my head, quickly standing up. 

“I’ll carry Ace back. One of you grab his brother,” I say. They all nod, and help me get Ace securely on my back, and his brother on someone else’s. As soon as I am sure they are both secure, I turn around and take off as fast as I can, without hurting Ace anymore, towards the Moby Dick. They all follow after me, one of them running ahead to inform the doctor’s what is going on. 

I watch Marco come into the clearing, completely soaked in blood. I was slightly worried, but I knew his ability would take care of most injuries, and he didn’t seem to be hurt too badly. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch sadly as he picks up Ace’s discarded hat. He looks around, seemingly lost on what he should do.

I yell at him to go. He needed to find Ace, that was more important than watching as I fight Tavaris. He stares at me for a few seconds, before nodding his head and running into the forest. I then turn my full attention back to Tavaris, who is glaring furiously at where Marco had stood. 

“Why do you care so much about him? He is the son of the Devil, he will do nothing but betray you.” he spits out, causing me to laugh loudly. 

“If you think Roger betray, anyone, then you didn’t know him at all.” I calmly say, staring at Tavaris.

“Don’t give me that bullshit! His betrayal is the reason my father is dead! Why are you even defending him? He hated you and I thought you hated him!” he yells out, grinding his teeth in anger. I let out another laugh, staring at him in pity.

“Let me tell you something boy. Roger and I never hated one another. We were rivals, you don’t have to be enemies to be rivals…and he would rather die than betray anyone who he considered a friend. I watched as he took on an entire fleet of marines, just to give his crew time to escape. I don’t know what happened to your father boy. But I can promise that he wasn’t betrayed….I trust Ace…just as I trust all of my sons. Just as I trusted you…and Teach.” I say, staring at him calmly. He stares at me in shock for a few seconds, trembling slightly, before letting out a hollow laugh. 

“You know, I always thought that you were someone to look up to. You were always so strong and reliable. You took what you wanted, when you wanted, but you always stood up for innocent people. You always protected civilians from other pirates. I always thought that was so honorable. But you’re just a pathetic, sentimental, senile old man. There nothing honorable about you. There is nothing worth looking up to.” He sneers at, glaring furiously at me.


	25. Chapter 24

I sit on the railing of Sunny, staring at the forest as tears stream down my face. I hated leaving Sanji there alone, but I knew it was for the best. There was no way I would have been of any help. Just seeing him made me freeze up and my mind to blank, I wouldn't have been able to fight at all. I wouldn't have just hindered Sanji, he would have spent most of the time worrying about me. So, it was defiantly for the best, but I still feeling terrible about running like that. It just proves how weak and helpless I am. I had been swearing that if I ever saw him again, I would kill him myself. But I wasn't able to do anything.

Let out a shaky sigh, I continue staring at the forest, hoping Sanji, or any of the crew, would come out soon. Suddenly I see movement out of the corner of my eyes, a large group of people were exiting the ship. Pulling down my goggles, I try to focus on them, sighing in relief when I recognize a few of them as being part of Whitebeard's crew. My relief was short lived, however, when I notice them carrying Luffy and Ace on their backs, both of them unconscious and covered in blood and bandages.

"Luffy!" I yell out in surprise, jumping down from the railing and hurriedly making my way off the ship, running towards the group. I see the one carrying Ace, who I can only assume is Marco from the stories Ace had told me, say something to a few of the others, who nod their heads and quickly make their way towards me.

"What happened to Luffy and Ace?" I ask in shock, thinking it was impossible for either of them to lose, and especially both of them. They exchange glances before looking at me sadly.

"We are not really sure what exactly happened. We were with Pops when Tavaris showed up wearing Ace's hat. Pops sent us off to find Ace, while he fought Tavaris. When we found them, they were laying unconscious in a massive pool of blood. They still had a pulse, though it was very weak, so we bandaged them as best we could, to try and slow down the bleeding, with the hopes that we would be able to make it back to the ship in time. Our doctors will do everything they can for Ace and Luffy. If you want, you can go and stay on the Moby Dick and your doctor is more than welcome to assist ours." they inform me, smiling sadly.

"Chopper isn't here. I am the only one back," I reply, shooting a quick glance on the forest. They nod their heads, before, also glancing quickly at the forest.

"You can still stay on our ship, if you wish. We will stay out here and inform any of your crew members that show up," they offered. I nodded my head, thank them and take off towards their massive ship.

I jump backward, narrowly avoiding getting hit by his sword. I glare up at him, as he lets out a low laugh. "If you think you can get revenge for your little whore with just that much power, then this fight won't even be fun….but at least I'll get to the after party quicker," he jeers with a lecherous smirk. I smirk back, taking a long draw from my cigarette.

"That was just the entrée, now it's time for the main dish," I reply, attacking him with a barrage of rapid kicks. He goes flying backwards, crashing through trees. He looks up from his place, slumped against a tree, and grins at me, blood running down from his head. He slowly stands up and begins charging towards me, his sword raised high in the air. I smirk back, rushing towards him as well, ready to show him exactly what happens when someone messes with my Usopp.

He ended being all talk, after all. A few kicks sent his sword flying, but not before he landed a hit to my side. A few more kicks and he was lying unconscious and bloody on the ground. I know that Luffy hates for us to kill anyone we don't have to, but I feel I don't have a choice this time. I can't let him live after what he did to Usopp. I walk towards his limp body and raise my leg, slamming in down as hard as I could on his neck. I close my eyes in slight disgust at the sickening crunch it made, before turning away and pulling out a cigarette. I put a hand on my side, hoping to slow the bleeding down and begin rushing towards Sunny, I had to make sure Usopp was alright.


	26. Chapter 25

I pace in front of the door to the infirmary, the other members watching me in concern. They were all use to me being calm and collected in every situation, but I just couldn't help it right now. Not only was the love of my life, and his brother, an inch from death, Pops was out there, alone, fighting Tavaris. I usually wouldn't worry about Pops, he isn't called the strongest man in the world for nothing, but who knows how many men Tavaris has…and, although he won't admit it, everything that has happened in the past few months has taken a major toll on his health, and he wasn't in the best health to begin with.

I am broken out of my thoughts by the sound of someone running towards me. Looking up, I notice the long nosed, curly haired man stumble to a stop in front of me. Gasping for breath, he looks up at me, his wide-eyes slightly red.

"Is…is Luffy okay?" he gasps out glancing around, as if hoping said boy would be standing amongst the crowd.

"He should be fine," I reply softly, turning my gaze towards the door. "The doctors are treating him and Ace as we speak…They weren't in the best shape…but we have some of the greatest doctors in the world on this ship." I see him nod his head out of the corner of my eye, before he takes a few steps back before he all but collapses against the railing. I send him a sad smile before taking a seat on the deck next to him.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before the boy next to me begins to speak. Nothing he says makes since and it took me a few moments to realize he was telling a story of some great adventure. I watch him for a while, slightly confused as to why he would be telling some grand lie at a time like this. But I quickly notice that he doesn't seem near as worried or nervous as he did before, so I sit back and listen, smiling slightly when he starts to really get into it.

I sit there for what seems like hours, listening to Usopp tell story after story, before he suddenly stops, letting out a gasp and quickly standing up. I open my eyes, that I hadn't even realized I had closed, and look over to see him wrap his arms around and bury is face into the chest of a blood soaked blonde. Said blonde wraps his arms around Usopp and holds him tightly, until Usopp moves his arms causing the blonde to flinch. Usopp pulls back quickly and glances down.

"Sanji! You're hurt," he gasps out. "Let's go back to the ship and I'll clean and wrap it." He says, grabbing Sanji's hand and starting to walk.

"Wait, Usopp…It is fine…It is just a scratch. We should wait here," he replies, glancing quickly at the door. Usopp turns back looking at him worriedly before quickly nodding his head. I smile softly as he gets Sanji to sit down on the deck and begins fussing about his wounds. Letting out a soft sigh, I stand up and head to the storage room to retrieve some bandages and ointment, as well as a bowl and cloth to clean the wound.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I look down at, the now dead and blood soaked, Tavaris. Even after everything he had done, I really didn't want to kill him. He was one of my precious sons, but he hadn't really left me a choice. I had tried talking to him…reasoning with him. But everything I said just seemed to make him angrier…and I knew if I had left him alive, he would once again come after my family. But that didn't make me feel any betters. So, with another sigh, I quickly dig him a grave, before turning and heading back to the ship.

"Pops," Marco calls as I step onto the ship, running towards me. "Are you alright?" he asks in concern, coming to a stop next to me.

"I'm fine son," I reply with a fond smile, placing my hand lightly on his head, before making my way to my chair and sitting heavily on it. I sigh slightly as he brings over my oxygen tanks and begins cleaning my wounds after making sure I was using them.

"How is Ace?" I ask quietly, realizing that he was nowhere on deck. Marco falters slightly before shaking his head and going back to the task at hand.

"I don't know Pops. Him and his brother were in pretty bad shape when we found them…They…they had lost a lot of blood. The doctors have been working on them for a few hours now…The Strawhat's doctor joined them not long ago…but we haven't heard anything." he says, getting choked up halfway through. I look down at him to see him biting his lip and trying not to cry.

"I…I don't know what I'll do if Ace doesn't make…I can't lose him again Pops," he continues, tears now flowing freely down his cheeks. I sigh sadly and pick him up, setting his softly on my knee. He turns to face me, burying his face into my chest and begins sobbing.


	27. Chapter 26

We all stand up and turn to face the door as it opens and the doctors begin filing out, looking tired but not depressed. All save for the Straw Hat doctor and our head doctor made their way below deck, likely to get some rest and eat, they all looked completely exhausted. We quickly turn our attention back to the two standing by the door and wait with bated breath.

We let out a collective sigh when they both send us a weak smile. The little reindeer quickly makes his way over to the little group all the Straw Hats were gathered in as our doctor turns to face us.

"We have stopped all the bleeding and fixed everything the best we could, all that we have to wait for now is for them to wake up," she says smiling exhausted at us. I send her a small smile as well, stepping forward.

"You should go get some rest, we will have someone sit with them and get you as soon as anything happens." she nods before turning and making her way below deck, "You should go down and get some rest as well, you are welcome to any of the bunks." I say to the small doctor who looked as if he were about to fall asleep snuggled against the green haired swordsman. He stands up, nodding and heads down.

I make my way into the infirmary, followed closely by Zoro who takes a seat next to Luffy's bed, as I take a seat next to Ace's.

A day after everyone made it back onto the ship, we set sail, the Thousand Sunny not far behind, to reach one of the more peaceful islands under Pops' protection, which we reached after three days travel. Luffy's crew, save Zoro, who refuses to leave the infirmary, and Chopper, mostly stay on their own ship, one or two of them come by everyday to check on their captain and crew members. It only took a couple of days to reach the island, so we are all not relaxing, as much as possible at least, and waiting for the two brothers to wake up.

A week passes before things finally started looking up. Though there was no sign of Ace waking up, Luffy had started moving around and moaning. As soon as I hear him let out a slightly sound, I race out of the room to inform a nurse and the rest of his crew. After informing everyone, I get back on the Moby Dick and make way to Pops. I figured the Straw Hats would appreciate some time alone when their captain wakes up.

Blinking my eyes open, I shot up in bed looking around wide eyed. I spot Zoro and the rest of the crew next to me, causing my to smile widely. I open my mouth to say something when I am suddenly pushed back against the bed, before a nurse began scolding me while looking over all my wounds. Once she is satisfied, she firmly tells me to not push myself before walking out of the infirmary.

"Where's Ace?" I ask panicked, looking around wildly.

"He is laying over there. He still hasn't woken up," Chopper answers, "But he seems to be fine, we are just waiting for him to wake up," he adds on hurriedly. I look over at his bed, let out a sigh and nod my head slightly before beginning to excitedly talk about everything that has happened. We talk for a few hours before the everyone but Zoro leaves. Not long after, Ace's friend with the blonde hair, comes in pushing a large tray of food.

"Good to see you awake. I figured you might be hungry," he says with a smile, causing me to cheer loudly and thank his quickly before shoveling food into my mouth. He lets out a laugh before going over to Ace's bed and sitting beside it.

A few days after I woke up, I was allowed back on my own ship. As much as I wanted to stay next to Ace, I knew it was best to leave him to his crew, but I won't sail from this island until he wakes up and I get to see him.


	28. Chapter 27

I blink my eyes open, groaning as pain began spreading throughout my body. Once my eyes clear, I look around in mild confusion, having no idea where I was or how I got there. I look over to the side when I hear shuffling, to find Thatch, wrapped in bandages, staring at me with a wide smile stretched across his face.

"Ace! You're awake!" he yells jumping up, causing him to wince. I tenderly sit up, with a lot of help from Thatch and smile back at him. I open my mouth to greet him back, only to let out a slight croaking sound and start coughing uncontrollably. A nurse rushes in, from the connected room, carrying a glass of water.

She checked me over after my coughing fit had ended, quickly telling Thatch to go and inform Oyaji of my waking. She changes my bandages and tells me that I should be fine, before going back into the room she came out of. Thatch returns a few seconds later, a wide grin still on his face.

"How are you feeling, Ace?" he asks, retaking his seat next to the bed.

"Fine...what about you?...How are you feeling, Thatch?" I ask anxiously, still feeling slightly guilty of being partially the cause of his injuries.

"I'm fine...No need to worry, I feel great." He replies with a smile. "Marco and Luffy have been pretty worried about you."

"Luffy! Is he okay? Where is he?" I ask looking around expectedly. Thatch lets out a a small laugh.

"He's fine, Ace. He went back to his ship a few days ago. I sent one of the men over there to let him know you woke up. He should be here any minute now." he says, just as we hear a yell echo throw the ship. "Sounds like him now," he continues with a laugh. My smile grows as the door slams open and Luffy runs in, barely stopping in time to not collide with the bed.

"Ace!" he yells, hugging my tightly.

"Hey Lu," I greet, grinning brightly. "How are you feeling?" I ask, as Thatch leaves the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"Fine, fine. What about you, Ace? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asks hastily.

"I'm fine, Luffy. I am just glad that you are okay." I reply, happily. He smiles at me, taking a seat next to the bed and began talking about everything that has been going on since he woke up. I listen to his ramble for a while, until the door opens and Marco and Thatch come in pushing two trays full of food.

"Hey Marco," I greet with a smile as he comes to a stop next to my bed. He smiles gently back, before pushing the tray towards me. I start eating, quickly devouring everything on the tray in the matter of a few minutes. I look up to see Luffy finishing the food on the tray that Thatch had brought him.

He looks up when he was done and smiles brightly before coming over to the bed. "I'm going back to my ship for a while, I'll come back later, okay, Ace?" I reply back and watch as him and Thatch walk out of the door, leaving Marco and I alone.

"How are you feeling, Ace?" he asks, taking a seat next to and grabbing my hand. I smile brightly, squeezing his hand slightly.

"I'm fine. Is everyone else okay?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah. Everyone is fine. There were a few injuries, but besides you and Luffy, nothing too bad." he replies, smiling softly at me.

I was stuck in the infirmary for close to a week, before they finally let me leave. We stayed at the same island, Luffy refusing to leave as well. But today, I am finally able to leave. Jumping out of the bed, I rush out of the door, happily breathing in the fresh air. After a couple of minutes, I turn towards the front of the ship and make my way towards Pops' chair, creating all of the crew members on my way.

"Hey, Pops!" I yell, running up towards him. I grin brightly hearing his loud laugh.

"Hello, Son," he replies smiling down at me. "Glad to see you up."

"I thought I was going to go crazy sitting in there all the time," I reply letting out a laugh of my own. I take a seat next to his chair, talking happily for a few hours until the sun started to set and the commanders and cooks came out carrying large trays of food and barrels of sake.


End file.
